Showing posts with label nature crafts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label nature crafts. Show all posts

Monday, November 27, 2023

Creat Your Own Pinecone Topiary For The Holidays





Why not create your own pinecone topiaries to use as winter holiday decorations? Sometimes you only have to go as far as  your own backyard for most of the supplies!

Use large size pinecones to create single-cone toparies, or use a collection of small pinecones to build a larger sized topiary. 

Supplies needed:
Pinecones
Hot glue gun & glue sticks
Something to use as a base; ideas:
Mini terra cotta flower pots, egg cups, teacups, you get the idea
White glue & glitter (optional)
Acrylic craft paint (optional)
Add-ins: small sprigs of pine needles or other types of evergreen, floral craft piks for ornament, small jingle bells, shelled nuts, etc.



To begin with make sure your pinecones are completely dry and free from insects or other pests. You can put them on a cookie sheet in a warm oven at a very low temperature such as 200°F to help dry them out, but be sure to keep an eye on them and do not leave them unattended. 



Once dry, you can use you pinecones as-is, or you can fancy them up with some paint, glitter, or both!



To add snow-tipped edges to your pinecones, pour some acrylic craft paint in the color of your choice onto a paper plate. I like to use an off-white color that has a hint of beige for a vintage look. 

If you like, you can loosly wrap the top end of each pinecone with some fine wire before painting so that you can hang them to dry:
The photo above shows how I used very thin wire and attached it to the tops of the pinecones. This helped with painting and glittering them, as well as drying them. I had lots of extras so I kept these strung up on the wire and hang them around my house each Christmas season. The ones above I made with my elder daughter when she was six years old - she is now 21 so you can see how long they have lasted us!




Carefully roll the pinecone through the paint, making sure that each tip of the pinecone gets a spot of paint. Hang to dry using the wires or allow to dry on a piece of waxed paper or plastic wrap. 




Once dry, remove the hanging wires.



To add glitter with the paint, first roll the pinecone into your choice of colored acrylic paint, and then, quickly roll the wet-painted pinecone into a plate of your choice of colored glitter. My favorites are clear, silver, or gold. Shake gently to remove excess glitter. Hang to dry. You don't need a lot of glitter, a little goes a long way.



To use only glitter and no paint, roll the pinecone into a paper plate covered with white craft glue, such as Elmer's glue, and then roll the pinecone into a plate of glitter. Shake gently to remove excess glitter. Hang to dry.


Use many small pinecones to create one larger sized pine cone topiary. To do this you can simply use your hot glue gun to glue the pine cones together until you achieve the shape you trying to achieve, or you can begin with a base. 

One easy way is to begin with a cardboard cone-shaped base (you can make one by stapeling a cereal box into a cone shape and then painting it so that it does not show through between the pine cones.) Once you have your cone, use your hot glue gun to attach the pinecones to the base.  




To create pinecones that are completely drenched in color, use spray paint to paint them from all angles.





Florist plant pokes from a craft store are a great way to add little touches of color or different shapes and textures to your topiary. Other small things you can add include small acorns, shelled nuts such as chestnuts, small colored pom pom balls, etc. 

Use hot glue to attach your pinecone to it's base. That's all there is to it! 



Happy Holidays! 

Laura


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Article and images copyright ©Laura Beth Love 2023 and may not be republished in print or other media without express written permission from the author. As an Amazon Influencer, I earn from quaifying purchases. 

Thursday, September 15, 2016

Painting Feathers - How To Make DIY Metallic Painted Feathers


Over the summer I collected a few feathers that found their way to me as I sat and worked in my backyard. This morning I thought I would try to add a little bit of paint to them...here's how I did it...



Assemble your supplies. I used an old plate as my work surface, a paper napkin as my palette, and chose two small craft paint brushes: a medium ovalish flat brush and a standard round brush. I put a dollop of metallic gold craft paint onto my paper napkin. I chose two feathers to paint; one small and gray and one a bit larger and tan. 

Work in the morning sunlight, it will make you feel great :)


The first thing I did was gently use my fingers to smooth the vanes of the feather so that they laid flat and neat. You do this by working from the center rachis of the feather and smooth the vanes outward. The bottom part of the rachis on a feather is called the quill. The vanes of the feather that are directly above the quill are downy. 



I love metallic paint! I used what I had at home; gold and purple acrylic craft paint. Yes, this is the type of paint that is about 99¢ a bottle.  


The first feather I painted was the smaller gray one. It was not as firm as the tan feather so I thought I might have trouble painting it. I was right. This feather was too soft and downy-like and did not hold it's shape well, so when I painted it, the vanes immediately shrunk, separated, and stuck together. 

Note: I am holding the feather up in the photo but I painted it by holding it flat against the plate and I used a very small amount of paint and a very delicate touch when I painted it...still, it separated and did not hold the paint well. 

I also tried both paint brushes and found that the flat brush worked much better for this job than the round brush. I kind of expected that but thought I would try both brushes anyway. 



Next I painted the tan feather. Again I used my finger to hold the feather flat against the plate and with my other hand I applied a thin coat of a very small amount of paint to the end of the feather using my flat brush. I painted from the rachis out to the tips of the vanes. I held the feather in place on the plate for about a minute before I lifted it from the plate. 


I was pleased to find that the feather held its shape and the paint looked great. 



Yay!



Once the paint on the feather dries, you can apply another coat if you like, just be sure to use a very small amount of paint and apply it in a very thin coat! I really like the gold-tipped look because it shows the contrast to the natural feather, but you can paint as much of the feather as you like. You can also paint the reverse side of your feather once it is completely dry.

All in all, this project cost me absolutely nothing. I had the paint and brushes at home, and I found the feathers in my backyard. If you were going to buy supplies, it would at most cost you $5, and that's for the paint and one good brush - and you would have enough paint to paint feathers for the rest of your life! 

Wouldn't this feather be pretty in an autumn wedding bouquet or added to an autumn door wreath? 

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial, please leave a comment below! 






Have a great week!
 Laura



My broken china jewelry is always available for purchase at https://www.etsy.com/shop/dishfunctionldesigns


article and images ©Laura Beth Love 2016 all rights reserved.