Easy DIY Natural Pine Cone Ornaments

These DIY natural pine cone Christmas tree ornaments are not only beautiful; they’re easy to make and inexpensive as well

Pine cones (click HERE to learn more about pine cones) are a great crafting material for Christmas projects. They’re plentiful, versatile, and you can find them for free. Did you know there are male and female pine cones?

These spray-painted pine cone ornaments are a great example of a fun way to turn a simple pine cone into a lovely piece of holiday decor, using just a handful of materials

Choose your favorite shades of spray to personalize these, so that they look right at home on your tree.

It’s a really simple and affordable way to add a natural element to your Christmas tree. Plus, you can make these pine cone ornaments in any color that you want. You can also add a bow to make them more festive.

They also make a nice Christmas gift when made by kids for their favorite teachers or relatives.

How To Make Easy, DIY Natural Pine Cone Ornaments

To make your pine cone ornaments, you’ll need pine cones, spray paint (unless you want to leave them completely natural), ribbon or twine, and a hot glue gun. Then it’s three easy steps!

Collect Pine Cones

Step 1: Collect & Clean Pine Cones

Collect or purchase your pine cones. You can purchase pine cones from local craft stores like Joann’s or Michaels, but it’s fun and inexpensive to gather the pine cones yourself.

The pine cones don’t need to be special in any way, just gather those that look like a suitable size for your Christmas tree and make sure to choose those that are in good condition.

If you have gathered rather than purchased your pine cones, you’ll want to clean them up before spray painting. Start by wiping off any debris with a moist cloth.

Next, place the pine cones on a baking sheet and bake them for one hour at 200° F. This will force out any insects that may have taken up residence, and also open the tips of the cone a bit.

Watch the pine cones carefully as they are baking to make sure that none catch fire. The pine cone sap is flammable.

Foraged pine cones that are in good shape can last many seasons as ornaments for your tree!

Painting Pine Cone Ornaments

Step 2: Paint Your Pine Cone Ornaments

Spray paint the pine cones with the paint and let dry. You can make them any color you’d prefer to match your Christmas decorations.

In the photo below, I chose to use metallic silver paint. In previous years, I’ve made them using metallic gold paint.

At this stage, prior to adding the ribbon hanger, you can use your painted pine cones to make other Christmas crafts like a garland, or a centerpiece by adding a little greenery. It’s an affordable way to freshen up Christmas decorations so it’s a good idea to spray paint lots of pine cones for projects.

Assemble The Pine Cone Ornaments

Step 3: Assemble The Ornaments

Make or buy ribbon or twine hangers and attach them to the top of the pine cone with a hot glue gun. The first time I made pine cone ornaments, I used prefab ribbon hangers – they were affordable and it was worth it to me not to deal with creating the ribbon hangers.

However, in subsequent years, I couldn’t find prefab ribbon hangers in the color I wanted, so I created my own. Craft stores like Joann’s or Michael’s carry ribbon in many colors and styles so you can get the perfect look.

For the pine cone ornaments pictured, I used a 3/8″ wide ribbon and cut it into 10″ lengths. Then tie the ends together to form a loop and attach to the bottom end of each pine cone with a glue gun.

I think these pine cone ornaments add a beautiful natural element to a tree, they’re so easy to do, and last from year to year if handled carefully. You can also add flocking or glitter…..the possibilities are really endless!