There are so many creative ways to use pine cones in your crafting, wedding, home decor and more. If you’re wondering how to clean pine cones for crafting, you’ve come to the right place. Whatever your inspiration, we’ll show you a simple and natural way of pine cone cleaning before you start crafting.
How to Clean Pine Cones
We love to create rustic decor and crafts using pine cones, such as our DIY wall hanging and our easy DIY burlap wreath. Or create pretty pine cone roses or pine cone flowers for Halloween with them. We take our cones pretty seriously as we’ve been selling beautiful Canadian pine cones in our Etsy shop for a couple of years now.
It’s a good idea to always clean pine cones to ensure they are free of dirt, insects or other clippings and debris. This is particularly important if you are planning to use them in tablescape projects such as a centerpiece, place card holders or napkin weights. You can check out how we recently used them to make DIY pinecone pineapple party decorations.
Pine cones make great accessories for rustic weddings, to make rustic wall hanging for the home and can even be used for practical reasons, such as campfire starters!
Supplies Needed for Cleaning Pinecones:
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- Pine cones
- Scrubbing Brush*
- Cookie Baking Sheet
- Parchment Paper
How to Clean Pine Cones:
- Using a coarse brush, scrub away at and in between the scales of the pine cone.
Note: If your pine cones have a lot of dirt and dust on them, you may want to wash them as well. Pine cones will close up when wet, so you’ll want to work quickly in small batches. Add the pine cones to a small bucket filled with warm water and bit of dish washing soap. Before they have a chance to close up, scrub away the dirt. Set them on a flat surface and let them dry for 1-2 days at which point they will open back up. - Line a flat baking sheet with parchment paper. Place a single layer of scrubbed pine cones on the lined baking sheet.
- Preheat oven to 220 degrees F. Bake for 25-30 minutes. Oven temperatures vary so ensure to closely monitor the pine cones while baking in the oven.
- Let cool completely before using.
If you’d rather not go through the trouble of collecting and cleaning your own, or if they aren’t readily available to you, you can purchase beautiful cleaned pine cones directly from our Etsy shop.
Happy pinecone crafting (and cleaning)!
How to Clean Pine Cones for Crafts
Materials
- Pine cones
- Scrubbing Brush
- Cookie Baking Sheet
- Parchment Paper
Instructions
- Scrub out dirt and seeds with a scrubbing brush.
- If necessary, wash the pinecones.
- Bake the cleaned pine cones on a flat baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Oven temperatures vary so ensure to closely monitor the pine cones while baking in the oven.
- Let cool completely before using for crafts.
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Johlene Orton
I would have never thought to search the web for ways to clean a pine cone, but I´m glad I found this post to do it right the next time! I love pine cones for crafts!
Jane and Sonja
Thank you Johlene! We fortunately haven’t had any issues using the pine cones for crafts in the past. However, especially when they’re getting placed on plates, a little extra cleaning doesn’t hurt!
Sandy P
I love your instructions- I went the long route and washed, dried in oven or bleached and dried in the oven. The one step I don’t see is how to “seal” them. What is good to use? Would Mod Podge do the trick? Spray sealer? If I use spray sealer, how long do I wait to decorate them? Thank you for any help you can offer.
Terri
Hi Ladies
Thanks so much. I actually have a couple of parrots, one of which loves chomping on pine cones. So now I can clean them up properly and feel satisfied she has a safe and healthy toy to amuse herself.
I was also wondering about the little notes cards. I can’t remember when I signed up but was wondering if this nice monthly gift is up to date. Honestly I am not sure I ever did receive one email regarding a new monthly card. Would love to know if this program will continue. Love…love…love those cards and your watercolor envelope tutorial! Love you guys!
Jane and Sonja
Hi Terri! I didn’t realize parrots liked to play with pine cones – makes total sense.
You are sooooo sweet with your comment about the cards. We’ve had so many things on the go that we’d honestly let them lapse a bit (the last one was released in March). It’s hard to gage sometimes what our lovely readers find the most valuable- your kind words about the cards fill our hearts and were just the kick in the pants we needed to release more. Keep an eye out for the July and August cards next week! Thank you.
Natalie Desrochers
I will certainly use this in the future. I love to collect real pinecones! 🙂 Thanks for this
Jane and Sonja
You’re very welcome. Happy pine cone crafting!
Tina
We have a big ole pine tree next door to our house but the cones are always so sappy. Is there a trick to getting rid of the sap or is that not a good kind of Cone to use? I wanted to make up some Christmas garlands w small pinecones.
Jane and Sonja
Hi Tina,
Some pine cones definitely have more sap than others. We’ve found that when you bake them, the sap hardens and becomes much less sticky, making the pine cones easier to use.
Warm regards,
Jane
Diane
Do u have to place cones in oven? Or just let them dry flat?
Jane and Sonja
Hi Diane,
No, you don’t have to place them in the oven necessarily. If you leave them on a flat surface they will dry out and open up on their own. Placing them in the oven spends up that process. The heat from the oven also will kill any bugs or bacteria from the pine cones. We think this is really important if you’re planning to use the pine cones in a centerpiece or table arrangement. It’s likely less necessary for a wreath or other crafts.
We hope this helps!
Jane
Megan cleveland
Is it ok to wash them up and then put them right in the oven? I mean, let them drip dry real good first, then pop them in the oven? Kill bugs and dry at the same time! Save some time!
Jane and Sonja
Hi Megan,
Yes, definitely you can! You may just want to rotate the pine cones as they’re baking as sometime they won’t up on the side that they’re resting on.
Hope that helps!
Jane
Lisa
I have just moved from NY to NC I have collected a ton of pine cones with my two year old granddaughter I was so happy to find out how to clean them. Now I will be DIY for Hanukkah and Christmas, including crafting with my Luna. So exited thank you for your post.
Connie
How can you make them safe so they don’t cut you?