Pinecone Zinnias
Today was a day of cleaning up limbs that had fell from the snowfall last week. Among the limbs were lots of pinecones. I use pinecones in many of my rustic, fall and country designs. I like their textured feel and look and they add dimension to a design. I am always researching new ways of design and I came across an article on creating zinnias from pinecones. What a fun idea. I decided to give it a try. How easy they are to create.
What you will need :
Sponge Brush, Paints, mod podge acrylic sealant, and pinecones.
Any type of pine cone will work. Just be sure the bottom of it turned upwards resembles a flower. You can use different sizes of pinecones as you are creating “a bouquet” .
Once you gather your pinecones, Dry brush them to clean any pine straw and dirt off .
Some use spray paint to color the pinecones. I tried it , but found that it spattered and was a little messy. So I opted for the acrylic craft paint and a sponge brush. It gives me more control of getting into the cracks and layers of the pinecone.
I let the paint set for about a minute on the pinecone and then I dry brushed it for an outdoorsy and natural look.
I dabbed a little yellow paint in the center to create the pollen part of the zinnia. Don’t be afraid to layer different colors and layer shades for depth.
The paint will be dry to the touch in about an hour, but I wanted to be sure it was completely dry in all the nooks and crannies. I waited until morning for the next step. I sealed them with the modpodge sealant. Let them dry and you are ready to arrange them in a beautiful bowl . They make a great accent piece. I love the colors they add to a room Be creative. You can use them to make a wreath or string them as a garland. Here is a link to a step by step tutorial on creating pinecone zinnias .