Handmade Christmas - Pinecone Garland

Today's issue of Handmade Christmas is brought to you by Pinecones! They may be sappy, but they're free!

I made this pinecone garland for next to nothing, and you can too! It's a great, cheap way to bring the outdoors into your home this Christmas season!

Gather your pinecones, whether from the ground or the craft store, they are abundant this time of year! Just be sure to watch for bugs that may hitch a ride if you bring them in from outside. (I killed a spider and a tiny mite!)  Mine turned out to be covered in sap, so when I hot glued them, the sap melted and got sticky, so it made a bit of a mess, but it made the room smell so piney and christmassy!

 I used twine for this, as it's strong and rustic looking. You can cut the twine before hand or do the project straight from the roll. If you cut it, be sure to make it 2 to 3 times longer than you need it so you have plenty of room to account for the distance you lose when wrapping the pinecones.

I recommend putting down paper or some covering to protect your work space from the glue and the sap.

I simply started with one end of the twine, dabbed the top of the pinecone with hot glue, then wrapped the twine once or twice around the top and finished with some more hot glue, allowing it to cool and set. 

Space out enough room on the twine for the next pinecone to sit comfortably, then repeat, until your garland is as long as you need to to be. For mine, I used about 45 pinecones (give or take a few) that spanned the width of the shelf above our TV.

Work gently when you hang it up, as the pinecones can be somewhat fragile and shed on the floor.

I accented with ribbons, and draped Christmas lights along with it, and voila! 

Pineconey goodness.

 Thanks for reading!