Pine Cone Ornaments/Garland + Tutorial

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Pine cones seem to be my thing this year! After collecting some for a display, and then using some to make a pine cone wreath, I’ve now used even more pine cones to make this cute pine cone garland! The pine cones could also be used as ornaments, but I wanted to take it a step further!

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I raided my crafting stash to make these, using spray paint along with some beads and gemstone chips (taken from an old necklace).

Want to know how to make your own Christmas pine cone decorations (or garland)? Read on for a tutorial!

You’ll need:

Pine cones

Spray paint (optional)

Bead stringing wire

Beads (various sizes)

Gemstone chips (optional)

Crimps

Ribbon (optional)

Flat nose pliers

Wire cutters

Note: Strong thread could possibly be used in place of the bead stringing wire; just knot instead of using crimps.

1. Spray paint your cones and leave them to dry.

2. Cut a length of bead stringing wire (I cut around 25cm to be sure I had enough to work with). Thread on a crimp and then thread the end of the wire back through the crimp to make a loop. Flatten the crimp with flat nosed pliers, making sure it’s nice and tight!

3. Thread beads onto the wire in whatever design you want. I used some little seed beads along with larger beads and gemstone chips.

4. Repeat steps 2-3 for as many pine cones as you have. Make sure you have enough wire left over for attaching to the pine cones (some of the bead threads in the picture ended up too short and I had to remake them!) I created several different designs, varying the gemstones I was using (I used hematite and smoky quartz).

5. Thread another crimp onto the end of the wire and make another loop as in step 1 but don't flatten the crimp just yet.

6. Slide the loop over the stalk of the pine cone, pulling it tight. Then flatten the crimp with flat nosed pliers. This is one of this times when you might wish for a second pair of hands! But it is possible to do with just one pair :)

7. Cut off excess wire with the wire cutters.

8. If you only want decorations, you’re done! For a garland, simply knot the ornaments onto ribbon, evenly spaced (or randomly, if that’s how you roll!) I used 2 metres of ribbon and ended up with the garland in the picture which is around 1.2m long, excluding the ties (the front of the mantelpiece is around 1.5m).

 

Some of this takes some perseverance – I had to remake a couple of the decorations because I didn’t pull the loop tight enough around the pine cone stalk! Another fell off as I knotted it onto the ribbon so I ended up gluing the two pieces together. (Hurrah for glue!)

Here's a breakdown of the costs:

Pine cones: Free (picked up by my awesome 81-year-old Nanny on one of her walks)

Crystal chips/beads: Free (from old necklaces broken up for one of Mum's old projects)

Large beads: Free (left over from one of my projects)

Tiny beads: Free (Part of a present)

Spray paint: Free (left over from when I revamped a picture frame for my room)

Jewellery findings and tools: Free (remnants of my parents jewellery business of the 90's!)

Ribbon: £0.90 for 2 metres

Total cost: £0.90

This is my favourite type of project. It used a lot of project leftovers, so was very wallet-friendly!

Now over to you: are you making Christmas decorations this year? What are you making?

Will be linking up at the fabulous parties in the side bar :)