How to Make Beaded Pinecones

In addition to adding beads, applying paint is another means of making decorations out of pinecones.

Pine trees, and by extension pinecones, are commonly linked to Christmas and other winter holiday celebrations. As such, pinecones make a natural choice for the basis of winter decorations. The complex shape of the pinecone can make it a challenge to create a more substantial decoration around it, but with a little ingenuity and some beading supplies, you can make a beaded pinecone that shows off both the natural beauty of the cone and your crafting skills. Beaded pinecones make great Christmas tree ornaments, as well as subtle home accents during the winter months.

Things You'll Need

• Pinecones
• Electric drill
• Jump rings
• Needle-nosed pliers
• Round-nosed pliers
• Beads
• Craft wire
• Wire cutters

Instructions

1. Soak the pinecones for an hour. Remove them from the water and let them air dry until they're still damp, but no longer dripping. This will help keep the wood from splintering when you drill holes in it.

2. Drill a small hole in each of the scales of the cone that you want to bead. Position the hole about an eighth of an inch in from the edge of each scale, or just past the natural ridge at the end of the scale.

3. Open a jump ring for each scale in turn by gripping it with the needle-nosed pliers and bending the wire with your fingertips.

4. Fit each small hole with an open jump ring. Bend the wire to close the jump ring once it's threaded onto the hole in the pinecone.

5. Rosary-loop each bead by threading it with a short length of wire. Use the round-nosed pliers to form a small loop on the ends of the wire, just where they protrude from the bead hole. Trim excess wire.

6. Attach the beads on the ends of the rosary loops to the jump rings on the pine cones. Open them with the needle-nosed pliers, slip the rosary loops on and close the jump rings again.

7. Add additional rosary-looped beads to the ends of the ones you've attached, if desired, to make long strings of dangling beads. This will create a chandelier or bead-curtain effect that will cover the pinecone.

References

• "The Big-Ass Book of Crafts;" Mark Montano and Auxy Espinoza; 2008