DIY: Magical Colored Pinecones
Available for sale in many specialty shops, magical color pine cones produce flames of different colors when burned in your home fireplace. The different flame colors result from the pine cones being treated with different types of chemicals. If you have access to pine trees and are able to collect pine cones, you can create your own magical color pine cones. Many of the chemicals used to treat the pine cones can be easily found in grocery or drug stores.
Things You'll Need
- Pine cones
- Bucket
- Table salt (yellow flame)
- Borax (yellow-green flame)
- Salt substitute (violet flame)
- Epsom salts (white flame)
- Long tongs
- Rubber gloves
- Newspapers
- Long, wooden spoon
Instructions
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1
Pour a half-gallon of hot water into your bucket. Slip on your protective gloves, and add one-cup of one chemical of your choice to the bucket. Be sure to use only one chemical at a time, to avoid any harmful chemical reactions.
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2
Stir the bucket's contents carefully, using your wooden spoon, until the chemical has completely dissolved. Place your pine cones into the bucket. Allow them to soak for about eight hours.
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3
Line a flat surface, such as a counter top, with several layers of newspaper. Use as many layers as possible, to avoid possibly staining your work surface.
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4
Fish your pine cones from the bucket, using your tongs. Lay them on your newspaper surface and allow them to dry, thoroughly. This should take about three days.
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5
Burn your pine cones in your fireplace, when they have completely dried.
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Tips & Warnings
Be sure to always wear protective gloves when working with any chemical.
Table salt, borax and salt substitute can be found at most grocery stores. Epsom salts can be found in almost any drug store.
Sciencecompany.com has a longer list of chemicals that can be used to create a wider variety of flame colors. Many of these chemicals can be purchased from their web site.
Try adding the pine cones to a decorative basket and giving them as gifts to friends who have fireplaces.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit pine cone image by Edsweb from Fotolia.com
