With the winter holidays just around the corner preparations are starting and everyone is starting to plan all sorts of fun themed decors and events. The stores are full or colorful ornaments and lots of cute and eye-catching decorations and that can be a little bit distracting. How about trying some handmade ornaments this year? We have a wonderful suggestion: pine cones. There are numerous pine cone crafts that are worth looking at so let’s start.

Pine cone ornaments

Whether you choose to display these cute penguins in the Christmas tree or in some other way, they’ll definitely look cute. So how do you make these things? Well, you need a pine cone per penguin as well as some black and yellow felt, black and white craft paint, tiny wooden beads, hot glue and string or twine. Check out the tutorial on Hellowonderful.

Another cute thing is the pine cone reindeer ornament we found on Dreamalittlebigger. As with the penguins, you need a pine cone per ornament and some other things. In this case that includes some small twigs to use as antlers, a red pom-pom for the nose and some twine.

Actually, that’s not the only way to make a pine cone reindeer ornament. You could also use fabric scraps for the ears, googly eyes, pipe cleaners for the antlers and a pom-pom for the nose. Attach them all with glue and hang the reindeer with ribbon. {found on kidscraftroom}.

The cute gnomes featured on Themagiconions is no less interesting either. Here’s what you need to make your own gnome decoration: a small pine cone, a white 1’’ felt or wooden ball for the head, a red felt ball or pom-pom for the hat, two white felt balls for the hands, green wool felt for the hat and scarf a button and some green thread.

A similar pine cone craft was featured on Sisterswhat. These pine cone elves are really cute and to make them you only need some felt, craft beads, pine cones, cardboard and a hot glue gun. Cut a felt triangle for the hat, roll it and glue the seams. Then glue a bead to the top of the cone and put the hat on it. You can then add the scarf and presents and paint the eyes on.

Or perhaps you’d like some pine cone owls like the ones on Craftsbyamanda. Each owl requires a pine cone, three acorn tops, two small feathers and some acrylic paint. Follow the instructions to see how to turn the cone into a cute owl. You could also try to make it look like a cute little baby chick.

You could also take advantage of a pine cone’s natural shape and make it look like a pineapple. For that you’ll need some yellow acrylic paint, green construction paper, tape and scissors. Clean the pine cone and then paint the tips yellow. Cut out grass like paper strips and curl the tips. Then toll the paper and insert it to the top of the pine cone. {found on tiffanystidings}.

If you’re the type that likes glitter and anything that sparkles, perhaps you’d enjoy making some glittery pine cone ornaments like the ones we found on Journeycreativity. Basically you can just spray some adhesive on the pine cones and then dip them in glitter. There are lots of ways to display them after that.

What’s interesting is that you don’t necessarily need a real pine cone to make a pine cone ornament. Check out the project on Craftsncoffee to see how you can make one using a styrofoam ball, felt, ribbon and craft glue. It’s pretty simple actually. Cut out some strips of felt in the shape of scales and then glue them to the ball in layers.

We found this really beautiful idea of turning pine cones into flowers on In-love-with-art. They actually look really nice. You can use a cutting tool to shape the flower petals and then spray some snow on the cones. Glue them onto branches and display them in a vase like you would do with regular flowers.

Pom-poms and pine cones make a nice combo. In case you’re wondering how such a mix would look like, check out Onelittleproject. If you like the idea, here’s the list of things you’ll need to make your own pom-pom pine cones: tiny pom-poms, pine cones, a hot glue gun and some ribbon or string. Glue the pom-poms to the underside of the cone branches and when you’re done just glue some string to the bottom and hang the ornament.

There are also a bunch of simpler and less colorful crafts you can do with pine cones, For example, check out the elegant ornament featured on Katrinshine. It was made using six pine cones, some ribbon, glue and yarn. First a bow was made and then then cones were glued on, three on each side.

Another very simple design idea for pine cone Christmas ornaments is suggested on Kleinworthco. The cones are just displayed using some lace. You can use lace ribbon to make bows for each cone and then hang them all with string or yarn. Of course, you can also paint the cones or add other decorations to make them stand out a bit more.

It could also be nice to just put some pine cones and a few other things in a tray and use that as a festive ornament. For example, spray paint some cones white and combine them with tiny pumpkin and wine corks. It’s an idea we found on Town-a-country-living. Instead of spray painting the pine cones you could also just dip them in paint.

Use screw-in hooks to instantly turn any pine cone into a nice ornament which you can then display on the branches of your Christmas tree or which you could use to make a nice garland. You could also use a few cones to make a nice wall ornament like the one on Make-haus. All you need is some string, a twig or branch, some fir tree greens and a few pine cones.

And let’s not forget about presents. After all, they’re a pretty important part of the whole Christmas celebration. Make this year’s gifts look special and decorate them with pine cone toppers. You can find out how from the instructions offered on Homeohmy.

For the fireplace mantel you could make something festive like the ornament featured on Homeohmy. The most eye-catching part is the “merry” display and what were actually interested in is the garland decorated with hanging pine cones. Each cone was painted and then glued to some ribbon. They were then wrapped around the branches of the garland and left to hang at various heights.

Garlands are festive and versatile and you can display them in a lot of ways. There are also lots of different designs you can try. For example, you could make something simple and even a bit rustic as suggested on Thesassysparrowblog by tying some twine around a few large pine cones. Use floral wire to make the stems.

Another beautiful suggestion can be found on Mottesblog. The technique is a little bit different in this case. The pine cones are hung with screw-in hooks and this makes it easier to adjust the size of the garland or to store it after the holidays are over. Also, each individual pine cone could be used as a separate ornament for the tree.

A nice idea can be to make a snowy pine cone garland. To do that you can paint the tips of the cone white. After that you can hang them with floral wire and string and make a garland which you can display in front of the fireplace or anywhere else you want. {found on themagiconions}.

If you want something with a bit more color and character, try the sugarplum garland featured on Themagiconions. To make something like that you need mini pine cones, colorful felt balls, floral wire, white paint, hemp string and a paint brush. First you paint the cones and then you string them onto the garland. After that glue the felt balls to the cones.

The pine cone garland described on Agirlsandagluegun is also colorful and eye-catching. As you can see, each pine cone has a different color so if you want to make a similar decoration you’ll need spray paint in various different colors. After you spray paint the cones and let the dry, hang them with twine.

Well, you don’t have to use that many different colors if you don’t want to. In case you prefer something simpler, check out the two-toned pine cone garland featured on Simplicityinthesouth. Here you can also find a nice tip on how to get rid of all the bugs that might hide inside the pine cones. (spoiler: you have to bake them).

If you’d rather not go through all the trouble of painting the pine cones, you can just leave them like that and find another way to make the garland look interesting. You could, for example, make some fabric bows for each cone as shown on Heywandererblog. You just need some fabric strips which you tie with a knot to the twine and then glue the pine cone there.

Festive pine cone wreaths

Wreaths are often perceived as being rustic an that’s not always the case. There are some really cool modern wreath designs as well and you should definitely try some of them. For example, head over to Sugarandcharm for a really nice example. This is actually a tiered wreath made using three golden rings. The rings are connected using floral tape and gold string and they are decorated with pine cones and flowers.

Pine cone wreaths are pretty versatile and you can decorate them in lots of different ways. For instance, you can use a bunch of small pom-poms to add some color to the wreath and make it look cute and lovely. Start with a foam wreath form. Paint it brown and then tie ribbon around it. Glue the pine cones to the wreath and then glue the pom-poms on the cones. {found on makeanddocrew}.

You could also mix different types of pine cones to make an interesting wreath. The idea comes from Satoridesignforliving. In addition to the pine cones you’ll also need some twigs and branches, an embroidery hoop and floral wire if you want to make something similar. This is a really cheap project and you can find most of the things needed for it in your own back yard.

To get this look featured on Knowhowshedoesit you’ll need to open the ties on a grapevine wreath and start untangling it to make it loose. Divide it into two sections and use floral wire to help them keep their shape. After that, start attaching the pine cones and leaves. At the end you could spray paint the wreath if you want.

If you think you’d the idea of a wreath that’s just all covered in pine cones, we have just the thing for you. There’s this tutorial on Prettygirls that shows you how to do exactly that. You’ll need a foam wreath form, pine cones, craft paint, a knife and a glue gun. You could use white paint or any other color you like.

Technically, the decoration featured on Lovethemmadly isn’t really a wreath but we like it anyway so we’ll tell you how you can make your own. Obviously, you’ll need some pine cones, In addition to that you’ll need paint in different colors and ribbon, twine or yarn. Use a brush to paint the cones. You could mix and match the colors however you want. Then hang them all in a bouquet and attach them to the front door.

The wreath featured on Designdininganddiapers isn’t quite conventional either. It’s basically a small frame made of painted twigs but it looks really nice. After you build the frame you can add some pine cones which you can hang with twine. Then hang the whole decoration on the door or on a wall.

Framed pine cones are a really nice idea if you want to make some seasonal decorations for your home. You could use the idea suggested on Craftsholicsanonymous. You’ll need pine cones, a glue gun, ribbon and a frame. Glue pieces of ribbon to the pine cones and then glue the ribbon to the frame.

The last wreath we want to show you is a really small one. It’s also a really cute ornament for the Christmas tree. You can make one just like that out of some miniature pine cones. You’ll also need cardstock, miniature bottle brush trees, spray paint, glitter and a hot glue gun. Follow the instructions on Tikkido to learn everything about the project.

Beautiful pine cone centerpieces

Apart from wreaths and individual ornaments, pine cones can also be used to make some really beautiful centerpieces for the Christmas table. Let’s say you want something more traditional. The pine cone and berries centerpiece featured on Julieblanner would be just right for you. You’ll need a branch of greens, red berries, pine cones and a tray.

Something similarly beautiful is shown on Look-what-i-made. This centerpiece is also displayed in a tray and includes things like fir branches, pine cones, showball berries, mandarin peel stars and candles. Everything is natural and you can put all these things together to make a wreath or you could just arrange them on a tray.

We’ve already seen that you can make pine cones look like flowers so how about using that idea to make a nice centerpiece? You could paint a few pine cones in different colors and then glue them onto some branches and put them all in a vase. {found on emmaowl}.

Individual pine cones could be used to make place card holders. In fact, that would be a really simple project. You could just paint the tops of the pine cones or decorate them with glitter and then then put the place card on top. Find out more about the project from the tutorial on Domesticalliblissful.

To make your pine cone place card holders look more interesting you could give them an ombre look. You can learn the technique from Whimzeecal. The supplies needed include pine cones, acrylic paint, an angled paint brush and an old toothbrush. Clean the cones with the toothbrush and then paint the bottom section of the cone. Then paint the second portion using a lighter shade and so on until you finish the design.

Another lovely idea is to make pine cone trees like the ones on Georginagiles. For that you’re going to need pine cones, small plant pots, acrylic paint and a thin brush. Paint the tip of each scale and make a spiraling pattern. Let it dry and put the cone in a pot. Then make the tiny start for the top. You could use a page from an old book for that.

The napkin rings described on Tikkido are also made using pine cones. You’d need some really tiny cones if you want to make something similar. You’ll also need craft wire, grapevine craft wire, crystal beads, wire cutters and a hot glue gun. Make the actual ring out of wire and then decorate it with beads and cones.

Of course, you could use pine cones as decorations for the table without integrating them into a centerpiece or anything else. They’d look more interesting if you paint the tips of their scales with acrylic paint in a strong color. You can find some inspiration on Adelarotella.

Also, pine cones aren’t only great for Christmas projects. You could also use them to make something nice and fun for Thanksgiving. For example, how about some turkey decorations like these colorful ones we found on Plentyofpaprika? They’re not that difficult to make if you have some pine cones, small pumpkins, googly eyes, colorful feathers and some scrap felt.