DIY Spray Paint Pinecones

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A few weeks ago I was cleaning up the side yard to clear away some of the leaves and debris from fall.   Our side yard has four very large pine trees that had dropped numerous amounts of pinecones.  In my annoyance of shoveling the large piles of debris into garbage bags, I realized I should keep some of the pinecones for a project.  I quickly collected a bagful of those guys and put them in my projects bin in the basement.

About two weeks ago when I was getting all the holiday decorations out, I stumbled upon that forgotten bag of pinecones.  I wanted to do a quick project with them, but I didn’t just want to leave them the way they were.  I had seen a project that involved dipping the pinecones into paint.  I have plenty of paint color choices, but I didn’t want to ruin the entire can of paint.  If I had dipped in the original paint containers I would risk having pinecone debris being left over into the paint and totally ruining the entire can.  I was also considering the mess if I were to pour paint into separate containers.  

So, the paint can was out of the question for me.  Onto the next idea. I had pinned this idea from  Dishfunctional Designs and realized I already had all the supplies I needed to get it done.  I wasn’t going to go with the bright colors from the blog even though they look so bold.  I was going to go with our normal palette of gray, white, and black.  I already had those colors in spray paint which would not cost a thing.   I did want them to look a bit more festive so I also was going to spray with a high gloss and some sparkle.

I unfortunately chose a cold and windy day to do the project, but it got done. Spray painting and trying to avoid getting sprayed is as bad as it sounds.  I spread out a drop cloth (with heavy items on the sides) and I laid the pinecones on top.  I needed to use gloves to make sure all the nooks and crannies got covered with the spray paint.  After two color coats, one sparkly, and one final glossy, all they need is some dry time.  I brought them inside to dry over night and they were totally done.

Supplies

Pinecones (free)

Spray Paint; any color and finish you choose

Drop cloth

Plastic Gloves (I love these nitrile gloves)

I am in love with this quick decoration project.  I already used the pinecones for the table decoration using a serving tray and leveled candles.  I currently have the pinecones on the mantle with small votive candles and the stocking hangers. I might actually use some of the surplus pinecones and spray paint them a bold red to combine with the other neutral colors and display them in the living room year round.

I wished I had done this sooner so you could collect the pinecones and have this out for Christmas.  But, there is hope.  If you have all the supplies and a little free time there are still two days until Christmas.

<3 mk