Preserving pine cones

Christmas is a mere eight weeks away (I know, GASP!) so that means now is the time to start your Christmas crafts. Somehow, nothing says Christmas like pine cones. Buying them, however, costs an ungodly amount for such simple and plentiful objects. What is the thrifty and crafty DIY'er to do? Use that collection of pine cones that you have hidden in the basket in your basement, of course. Or you could always go find a forest and do your collecting now.

Once you've hunted down your cones, either out of storage or from your brave venture into the wild, what should you do with them? The lovely and talented folks at Tipnut have your answer. Before you tie your cones into a wreath, or use them in any other craft, you must first prepare them. Tipnut has detailed instructions on how to prepare and preserve them so they are ready to make your Holiday centerpiece the work of art you are envisioning.

There are a few methods of making sure your pine cones are clean and bug free, but the second one sounds much safer to me. There are also instructions for bleaching them white. If you do choose to use the oven method, remember the very important step of watching for fire and smoke. (Like I said, the water method sounds safer)

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