How To Make a Pinecone Flower Arrangement

decoupage pot and pine cone flowers

We are having a lot of fun experimenting with our pinecone flowers. We’ve also worked with moss, pinecone and sweet gum pod picks - and decoupage. Something on Pinterest inspired me to put all those things together and make a floral centerpiece featuring hand painted pinecone flowers.

Here is the process if you want to try your own.

You need:

Pinecones

Pruning shears

4 or 5 inch plastic seedling pot

Decoupage glue

Pictures or decorations for pot

Hemp twine

12 inch bamboo skewers

Paint and brush

Hot glue

Dry floral foam

Preserved moss

We kept it simple and used plastic 4 inch planters we get by the dozen for gardening. In our case we might want to sell and ship them, so weight is a consideration. Also, we have a bunch just lying around, so no need to run to the store. However, a cuter look would be the heavier clay pots or ceramic flower pots if shipping weight is not an issue.

The first step is to decorate the plain black plastic pots. We chose a flower print and decoupage for one. This was trickier than anticipated as we put the printed photos on like wallpaper and the edges had to match. Turns out the pots have a slight taper, making the process more difficult than it might have been. Still, the end result was acceptable for a first try.

hemp twine wrapped pot

The second pot, same size, I wrapped in hemp twine using glue. Messy, but not a bad rustic look. Another look I want to try is wrapping the pot with a strip of lace or hemp ribbon.

The cone flowers take the most time. We use pinecones, washed and dried in a low (200°) oven to kill bugs, then cut into halves or thirds, depending on the size. This is not as easy as it sounds as dried, open cones are hard and resist cutting. A sharp pair of pruning shears seems the best option. My internet search for “easy ways to cut pine cones” led to the same conclusion, although other ideas include clamping them in a vise and using a powered Dremel tool or saw. We are getting better at the cutting, although it still takes some hand strength

pruning shears and pinecone

to wield the pruning shears.

Once the cones are cut, remove any remaining seeds, the papery membranes (seed at one end) that lay along the cone scales. We use long tweezers to remove seeds.

Now the cones flowers are ready for painting. You can use spray paint, and we have. Our current favorite method is craft paint applied with small brushes by hand. I put one coat on the bottom of the “flower,” then paint the top. After that dries I add a second coat just to the top. Here is where you let your creativity shine. You can leave the flowers one color, looking like daisies or zinnias (the bottom of the cone) or you can add various touches, putting a darker color down the center of each “leaf,” or outlining the leaves in black or a another contrasting color. 

painted pine cone flowers

The next step involves a drill, hot glue and bamboo skewers. We use twelve-inch skewers which you can buy inexpensively in bundles of several hundred. Their intended use is for barbeque, but they make great picks for pinecones, cone flowers or sweet gum pods. They are easy to cut to the desired length and are already pointed at one end.

This year my grown children gave me the perfect gift for Mother’s Day: a cordless drill with something like 80 attachments and drill bits. So, if your drill is charged up, insert the drill bit that matches the diameter of the wooden skewer. The cone flowers are sturdy enough we have not found it a problem to hold them steady and drill a small hole in the center underside of the flower. They are hard and woody, so it may take a few minutes to get ¼ inch hole.

Fire up your glue gun and apply a drop to the hole, then insert the round – not the pointed – end of

pine cone flowers and moss

the skewer into the hole and hold for a few moments until the glue sets. You now have a flower pick.

There are two types of florist foam and you want to get “dry” foam, not wet. Wet is designed to hold water for your live floral arrangements. The dry is light Styrofoam, usually green, that holds artificial arrangements in place. 

Cut a square of foam to fit inside your decorated pot. It should be a half-inch or so below the top edge and needs to fit snuggly into the inside.

To create the illusion of grass and leaves, we have been using preserved sphagnum moss. This was prepared by soaking fresh moss in a heated mixture of water and glycerin, and so far, the moss has remained good for several months. The process changed the color to an olive green. Sphagnum moss has feathery tendrils that look somewhat like leaves, so it was fairly easy to hot glue them to the top of the dry foam, creating a grassy, feathery look. 

Next, we simply inserted our cone flower picks into the dry foam, creating a pot of colorful flowers.

And there you have it! 

Margaret