Fragrant Pine Cones!

Fragrant Pine Cones

       Hey all!  I am back with another quick craft that can be used not only for Christmas but all winter long...you could us it for summer too however Pine Cones scream winter to me so I just use them as a decoration this time of year.  My kids and I went to a park to watch my husband play soccer one day.  While we were there we found this HUGE pine cone tree that was FULL of pine cones.  My kids were so excited thinking of all the fun things they could do with it and they just kept picking and picking the pine cones.  Before I knew it, I had a stroller full of pine cones, even my little boy was helping put them in the stroller.  My husband gave me a "You're so crazy" look as he loaded them into the car and even I began to wonder what I was going to do with them.  Then I got the bright idea to make scented pine cones!  There is nothing I love more than a good smelling house all year long, but especially during the holidays.  This is SO easy to do and it really does work and if you have a pine cone tree you score big because than it is basically free!  Okay so here is what you need:

- a bunch of pine cones

- Scented Oil (I bought mine in the candle section at Wal-mart and I used the whole bottle)

- a small spray bottle

- Gallon Zip-Loc bags

Okay so to get started I placed my Pine Cones in a large colander and rinsed them off with warm water...this will soak them and keep them from burning because you need to place them in the oven to bake them and open them up.  I then placed them on a foil lined baking sheet.  Make sure you line it so the sap doesn't get all over your pan...that would definitely be a pain to clean off.  Place them in a 200 degree oven and bake them for 1-2 hours.  I did mine for 2 just to be sure it killed off all the little bugs that I couldn't see. This also opens them up more and allows them to soak up the fragrance.

Next take your scented oil like the one below and place the whole thing in a small spray bottle.  Remove them from the oven and while they are still on the baking sheet you use about half of the spray and drench them in the liquid.  If you would like at this point you could also add a few cinnamon sticks but it is not necessary, I didn't do it.

Once you've sprayed them with the oil you need to pile them into a zip-loc bag, seal it and wait 24 hours for it to soak up all the spray.  The next morning you will take them out again and spread them on a foil lined cookie sheet to dry for another 24-48 hours (this is where your patience comes in).  At this point I thought I was done but realized that the smell wore off because I needed to do more oil after it was dry...silly me.  Once it is completely dry you will take the other half of your oil and spray all the rest on your pine cones.  No need to wait for them to dry again, they shouldn't be drenched this time because you didn't soak them in water beforehand.

Now all you have to do is display them!  We had so many pine cones we were able to stick them in vases for the kitchen and all the guest bathrooms.  It smells amazing and it actually lasts!  I love it and the best part is the oil is only $2 so that's all it cost.  Easy and cheap :)

Enjoy!

- Kristin