Hey there, So Much Better with Age friends! I am so excited to be here today!! My name is Candace and I blog over at Vintage News Junkie. “Vintage”, because, like Jamie I love all things old! “News” because I am an Emmy Award winning former news reporter. And “Junkie” because I like taking junk and making something beautiful out of it!! So nice to meet you, friend!
Now on with the show… do you all remember Jamie’s super cute Twine Christmas Trees from last year? A girl after my own heart! Like Jamie, I love decorating with a neutral pallet for Christmas… bring on the burlap, twine, and this year…. pinecones!!
This project is not for the faint of heart. It is tedious and time consuming, but not hard at all. Do I sound like a hypocrite? Ha ha! Here’s where I started… a plastic cemetery vase that I picked up at a thrift store for 25¢ and a handful of pinecones that my mom and I picked for FREE!
Now, before you start doing anything with your pinecones, you need to clean them! Yes, give those suckers a bath and get all the sap off of them. It makes things a lot easier in the long run! And when you get the icky on your fingers, I have a remedy for that too! Eight remedies, in fact!
Now that you are all cleaned up, let’s begin! First, take some wire cutters and trim all of the ‘petals’ off of your pinecones. Petals? Are you okay with me calling them petals? I’m not sure what else to call them. I trimmed four pinecones and it was enough for my whole tree.
I love that my pinecones have a natural white tip! I think it looks like snow and adds to the wintry feel of my tree. They came from an Eastern White Pine!
After you have trimmed your pinecones, start at the bottom of your vase and hot glue your petals around the bottom. My vase is plastic, so the petals stuck to it very easily. If you are using a styrofoam cone, you may have to wrap it in paper or something so it will stick.
And you just keep going round and round and round until you reach the top!
The top of the vase has a metal stick. I guess, technically, it is the bottom. But I just took a hack saw and cut that stick off. When I got to the top of my tree, I took one of the little sprouts from my pinecone and hot glued it right on top! Isn’t it cute?
I sat my ‘lil tree on my thrift store candle holders… the same ones I used for my 30 Second DIY Topiaries. These little candle holders have seen the world!! Ha ha!!
So did you spot my DIY Owl Centerpiece?? Whoooooo doesn’t love faux mercury glass and an upcycled thirft store find?! And if you’re looking for more pinecone sparkle, hop over and check out my DIY Burlap Napkin Rings!! You can make them with stuff you already have on hand!!
Until next time friends… it was so fun hangin’ out with you today!
Thank you, Jamie!!
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Vintage News Junkie
Lauren @ The Thinking Closet says
November 12, 2013 at 6:51 pmWow, Candace. This is truly gorgeous! And as much as I am TRYING to work on simpler projects, I have a lot for those meticulous ones. They just have such an incredible finished look and there’s something therapeutic to me about layering ruffles on a tree skirt or hot gluing petals to a cone! Pinning this puppy for a day when I’m feeling the need for some craft therapy!
(And hi, Jamie! So much fun to see Candace over here. Great guest post selection!)