Using pine cones collected outdoors can result in mold, mildew, or creepy crawlies invading your home unless they are correctly preserved for indoor use. Learn how to prepare pine cones for crafts NATURALLY and bring fresh evergreen scented pine cones to your home decor.
Fresh pine cones are a beautiful, natural addition to your home decor. They are available for free in the great outdoors and are eco-friendly.
Many craft sites suggest the use of chlorine bleach on pine cones. This is a mistake! Pine cones are porous and will absorb the bleach. They will continuously release these noxious fumes in your home.
Pine cones are available at many craft stores, but commercially purchased pine cones have often been treated with artificial scents that also contain noxious fumes that will be released into your home.
Fortunately there is an easy, all-natural, and FREE way to prepare fresh pine cones for crafts.
How to Prepare Pine Cones
1 – Collect pine cones. The pine cones pictured are Eastern White Pine (Pinus Stobus) from my yard. The white appearance is from the dried sap on the outside of the pine cones.
2 – Remove any debris or pine needles stuck on the pine cones.
3 – Soak the pine cones for 10-20 minutes in a bucket of water with ½ cup of white vinegar. This helps to kill any bugs or mildew and remove settled in debris. The pine cones will close up more tightly when they get wet.
4 – Place the pine cones on old newspapers to dry overnight.
5 – Line baking sheets with parchment or foil. Place pine cones on baking sheets and bake for several hours at 200-250 degrees Fahrenheit. Check the pine cones frequently while baking so they do not catch on fire. (Your home will smell wonderful!)
6 – The pine cones will be fully open, dry and shiny when finished baking. The shiny finish is due to the sap melting into the pine cones. This acts as a natural finish and preservation agent.
7 – Cool the pine cones completely and use in your favorite crafts.
Stages of Pine Cone Preparation
This images shows (from left to right):
1. Freshly collected pine cones.
2. Washed and partially dried pine cones.
3. Fully oven dried pine cones.
Pine Cone Crafts
Pine cones can be used for all kinds of crafts. I love making an easy pine cone garland.
Want to make snow covered pine cones? This ultimate guide shows you the 5 most common methods plus tips and tricks.
Need more pine cone craft ideas? I love these easy pine cone holiday decorations!
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Jay Titus says
I want to prepare spruce cones. Do you use the same steps for pine cones?
Bren says
I’ve never tried spruce cones but it should work. Let me know how it goes.
Michelle Burkett says
How do you get those poking tthing off? Will they come off when you soak them
Bren says
I don’t think they come off, but when you bake the pine cones the whole surface gets shiny/smooth/hard with the resin so you don’t really get poked anymore. Hope this makes sense!
Maureen Sullivan says
I realized I picked the wrong time to try this. My oven smells line turpentine from the sap melting and I have a pie to bake tomorrow and an entire Thanksgiving meal on Thursday! What do I bake to get rid of the scent.
Bren says
I would run the cleaning cycle or wipe the inside down with white vinegar.
Kim kollman says
Nip them with toenail for fingernail clippers.
Bren says
Great suggestion, Kim!
Kim says
Will apple cider vinegar work as well?
Bren says
Yes, you can use apple cider vinegar. I generally use white vinegar because it is cheaper and I have it on hand for cleaning.
Lynn says
Will this work for cones that I have had around for a while to get rid of dust?
Bren says
The water rinse would remove the dust. If the pince cones are fresh with no preservatives this will work. If they have been shellacked or somehow painted/treated they should not be baked. Baking is only for fresh, non treated pine cones. You can simply shake dusty pine cones in a bag with some table salt to dust them.
Miranda McCallister says
so if i found some cones that are graying and harder, now a couple weeks since but untreated, this method would not work, right?
Bren says
I would still soak them and air dry. YOu might try one in the oven and see if it gets glossy. Watch it closely!
Sandra Spear says
Hi Bren Last night I found your site I was so excited we soaked all our pine cones, theres alot of them , I sat them out to dry & went to bed during the night I relized I cant heat them in my home, my husband has toxic poisoning & fragrances set him off , do you have any suggestions of another way of heating them ? I dont want to give up before I even get started.
Thank you, Sandra
Bren says
Sandra, you could try air drying them or place them in a unlit grill on a warm, sunny day. The sun should heat the pine cones and help them dry. Good luck!
Joyce says
I’m going to use the grill outside to do mine.
Bren says
Let me know how it works for you, Joyce! 🙂
Elizabeth Boos says
Hi, to Sandra and anyone else unable or unwilling to bake their pine cones indoors: you could try using a diy Solar Oven outdoors. It needs a warm/mild to very hot day, but it works for me (my problem is that my kitchen oven is too small).
You can make a solar oven for almost no cost, out of two cardboard boxes, lots of newspaper, aluminum foil, and a sheet of glass. I find that while you don’t desperately need an oven thermometer, it is helpful to put one inside. Another tip: wear sunglasses, since the oven is lined with al-foil, used shiny-side-out. And yet another tip: use long-arm all-metal barbecue tongs to pick up hot things inside the oven (tongs make oven mitts optional).
There’s a pretty good set of instructions here:
http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Make-a-Simple-Cardboard-Solar-Oven/
One caveat: nearly all the instructions online use one or more elements that should *never* be used if cooking FOOD in the oven – though they’re fine for baking pine cones. Plastics, plastic tape, glue or other adhesives, colored paper, styrofoam and packing peanuts, paint, etc., all contain chemicals that, when heated to oven temps, will off-gas poisonous gases. Not very appetizing.
My own solar oven is two corrugated cardboard boxes, the inner one lined with al-foil, shiny side out, folded and crimped into place with *no glue or tape.* The outer box has 2-3 inches (5-8cm) of firmly crushed newspaper balls on the bottom, the inner box centered onto this, and packing for 2-3 inches thick around each side, of more tightly crumpled newspaper. I used the flaps of the outer box to cover over the gap at the top between the boxes; the flaps are cut back to just the size of inner-box opening. I bought a thrift-shop glassed picture frame that’s a little larger than the inner-box opening, which serves as the solar-collector lid; it’s got a wood frame, so it’s a little safer to handle in the heat.
I’ve cooked well with no reflectors, but these can be added as necessary, such as when the day is cooler. I use the kind of oven thermometer that hangs from an oven-shelf wire, so I sometimes lay an old steel oven shelf under the glass lid to hang the thermometer from. If the oven gets too hot, the temp can be lowered by raising the glass a crack on one side – wooden spring-type clothespins are good spacers for this.
I hope this is helpful!
Bren says
Great idea, Elizabeth!
RM says
Because the pine cones have already been washed & dried overnight — are you saying that the unlit grill would work in place of baking them for hours?
Bren says
Rosemary, the reader asking the previous question could not bake the pine cones indoors because of an allergy. On a hot sunny day and unlit grill can each a high internal temperature and MIGHT work so I recommended that she give it a try. If you do not have a problem with allergies baking the pine cones in the oven is the best way to prepare the them for crafts.
Julie says
You are very informative. I have some old ones and will give them a try.
Bren says
Thanks, Julie. Good luck!
Ramona says
I am afraid that they will catch on fire in the oven!
Bren says
You definitely need to use very low heat!
Yvonne says
Love the long cones where to. Get them
Bren says
Thanks, Yvonne. The pine cones pictured are Eastern White Pine (Pinus Stobus) from my yard.
Gail says
Southeast USA from long leaf pines
Bren says
Thanks for the tip, Gail!
Delphia says
I was wondering could you use dehydrated to dry them.
Bren says
I’ve never tried dehydrating them so I’n not sure how well it would work. Sorry!
Cynthia says
What temperature did you bake them on and for exactly how many hours. I have pine trees in my yard and would love to try this!
Bren says
Cynthia, I bake them for several hours at 200-250 degrees Fahrenheit. Make sure you check the pine cones frequently while baking so they do not catch on fire. You want them to get shiny.
Jen says
I just found your site and I am so excited! My husband and I collected some pinecones yesterday for me to make a wreath. Thank you for the good information!!
Bren says
Thanks, Jen!
Laura LeBreton says
Thank you so much for this information! I grew up with these Eastern pines but did not know how to use the cones due to the pitch on them. I gathered some up yesterday and am going to give this a try. Can’t wait!
Bren says
Thanks, Laura!
Donna says
Hi Bren,
Just came across your site tonight. I was wondering if the pine cones would close back up after they have been baked if you use them for outside arrangements, (grave blankets, door wreaths, etc.) where they would get wet? Thank you.
Donna
Bren says
I’ve hung mine outside on my porch where they are snowed on and not had any trouble with them closing up. Good luck!
Chris says
I’m not sure what type of pine trees my cones are from, but they were all closed when I picked them up from my yard. I cleaned in water and vinegar and I baked for an hour on 200 … they still didn’t open up. Any other Suggestions?
Bren says
I would try soaking them longer or perhaps soak, leave to dry overnight to see if they open, then bake. You could also use Google image search to try and identify the type of pinecone. Good luck!
Rebecca D says
Once they have baked long enough the sap will no longer be sticky?
Bren says
Yes, the sap with dry out and harden.
Elizabeth Welsh says
People keep asking you approximately how many hours you bake the cones?
Bren says
Elizabeth, it’s in step 5 (bake for several hours at 200-250 degrees Fahrenheit). It takes from 1-3 hours depending on how wet the pinecones are and what type. Good luck!
Lizzymac says
I came across your pinecone wreath post last year and followed the instructions to dry out pine cones, the house did indeed fill with a wonderful aroma and really got me in the mood for the festive season! My wreath looked great and I am now drying out more cones to use this year. Thank you.
Bren says
Thanks for writing! I am so glad you’re enjoying the craft and getting good use out of your pine cones. I have a bag in the garage I need to bake too!
Pamela J Williams says
I bought some scented pinecones in a store. Is there any way to remove the scent froom the pinecones? It is horrible and does not fit the crafting I am going to use them for.
Bren says
You could try spraying them with vinegar, it’s a great deodorizer. (Try one pine cone before spraying them all). Let them dry and the vinegar smell will disappear.
Eka says
To the reader who collected the closed pine cones.. likely Norway spruce (Picea abies), as they drop plentifully and are usually tightly closed. They won’t ever look like the “baked” white pine. That’s not to say you shouldn’t try it!
Now, my question: would you recommend skipping the soaking step, or is it important that the cones go into the oven with moisture in them?
Bren says
I have baked them without the presoak and they did not turn out as shiny. I would still soak to remove dirt/debris and then bake.
Deanna says
Hmmm nice to know. When baked the pitch on my cones melted and coated the scales unevenly. Some scales were shiney and some not. This didn’t work for the project intended. I needed all unshiney scales. As I was pulling off the scales to glue them onto a Styrofoam cone shape. These were ponderosa pine cones I baked. Would like to figure out how to get the pitch off before baking.
Bren says
I’m not sure it’s possible, sorry! You can try soaking and drying the cones on paper for several days, none would be shiny.
Brittany says
Went to soak them and a million spiders crawled out. I’m scarred for life! 😂
Bren says
Oh no! I’m glad the spiders were not in your decorations!
Jenny says
Hello Bren and thank you for sharing your wisdom. One question-we have so many (Eastern White) pine cones this year I am struggling to get them up before it snows! Right now I have a 5 gal (joint compound) bucket full. How much vinegar would you use for this size bucket?
Bren says
I would use a cup or two of vinegar… it’s not an exact science, but that amount should help get them clean!
Maralyne stanczak says
I teach grade school art. A parent gave me a bag of pine cones. Not sure if treated. I did notice some dirt or dust. Can I soak and air dry ? Cannot bake at home or school. I have many environmental allergies. Handling the cones today was starting to make me itchy today. Do we paint with acrylic or washable tempura paint ? Then spray with Modge Podge ? Please let me know ASAP. Maralyne stanczak
Bren says
I would not bake them if you do not know if they have been treated. Instead you can rinse them and let them dry or dust them with salt (place the pine cones in a plastic bag along with a few spoonfuls of coarse salt, shake the bag gently to remove the dust, remove the pine cones from the bag and shake off the remaining salt.) I would test your paint to see which sticks when it dries, if the pine cones have been treated tempura paint may not stick. Good luck with your project!
romy Lazzari says
you should give a good shake try to remove spiders etc… they are more valuable than pine cone decorations
Bren says
Yes, when collecting the pine cones I try to remove all debris… including spiders and pine needles… before bringing them inside!
Jan says
Ok. I saw a website where I could make pinecone flowers by spraypainting pine cones. I have so many pinecones falling off my trees right now in the springtime. Can I soak and bake them to do craft projects or can one only use the pinecones collected in the fall of the year?
Bren says
They should be okay at any time of year as long as they are falling off.
Vicki says
I picked up pine cones last year at this time. I put them in a box and they have been in my shed since. With many days this summer being 105+ my shed got hot. Do I still need to soak then and bake them before I use them for crafts or should they be dry enough, and I could just dust them?
Bren says
If the pinecones are hard and shiny and bug free you should be good. If not, I would still soak and bake them. Good luck!