How to Build a Pine Cone Tree

Take a walk in the forest and collect pine cones.

Build a pine cone tree for a natural, rustic Christmas decoration or winter country look. Decorate a fireplace mantel or shelf with your tree, or make several trees to create a decorative forest scene for your home. Place your finished pine cone tree in a flowerpot or decorative urn for a formal look. Use scented pine cones to fill your home with a warm cinnamon scent. Make several trees, and give them as holiday gifts.

Things You'll Need

• Pine cones
• 24-inch Styrofoam cone
• Hot glue gun

Instructions

1. Collect pine cones from nature or purchase bags from a craft store. You will need about 50 to 60 pine cones in varying sizes.

2. Spread the pine cones out on a surface and separate them by length, creating piles of small, medium and large sizes.

3. Glue the largest pine cones horizontally to the bottom of the Styrofoam cone to create the widest part of the tree. Use large pine cones that are similar in size. Add a drop of hot glue to the bottom of the widest part of the pine cone, in the stem area, using a glue gun. Push the glued area into the Styrofoam. Hold the pine cone in place for about 15 to 20 seconds until the hot glue dries. Continue adding pine cones, one next to the other, to fill around the bottom of the cone.

4. Create the next layer of pine cones by using slightly smaller pine cones, gluing them to the cone above the bottom layer of pine cones. Pine cones do not need to be the exact size in each layer, as a variation in sizes will add more texture. Use pine cones that are similar in size. Overlap this layer of pine cones with the layer below, having them meet, to avoid gaps.

5. Create more layers of pine cones in the same fashion as the previous two layers. Use smaller pine cones for each layer until you reach the top. The top pine cones will be the smallest.

6. Glue a short pine cone with the point upright on the top of the tree. The pine cone will fill in the area and create a cone shape that will blend with the cone shape of the tree. Use a small pine cone that comes to a point for the best effect. This will represent the top spike of the tree.

7. Glue very small pine cones into gaps on the tree. There may be areas with gaps where pine cones do not fit together. Add a drop of glue to small pine cones, and push them into the open areas. This will give a natural, textured look and cover the exposed base of the tree.

8. Decorate the tree as desired. Wrap string lights used for decorating miniature houses in Christmas villages around the tree. Paint a small wooden star with yellow acrylic paint, and glue it to the top of the tree. Glue wooden or glass beads onto the pine cones to look like Christmas tree balls.

Tips & Warnings

• Paint the pine cones before assembling, if desired. Lay the pine cones out on newspaper, and spray paint them using long, broad strokes for coverage.

• Spray paint a clear, acrylic sealer after assembly, if desired.

• Paint the tips of the pine cones with white acrylic paint to look like snow. Alternatively, spray them with artificial spray snow.

• Use Styrofoam cones in various sizes to make smaller and larger trees. Display several trees together for a forest vignette.

References

• All Events Adviser; Pinecone Tree Decoration; March, 2010