How To Make Bleached Pinecones Without Bleach

Do you love using pinecones in your decor as much as I do? They are such a lovely natural accent that adds loads of texture and interest to your decor. Plus they don’t need to cost you a cent!

You can find them almost anywhere. A trip to your neighborhood park will usually yield a plethora of pinecones. It isn’t uncommon for me to be collecting pinecones while my boys play at he park.

I can remember stopping along the side of the road to get drinks out of the cooler in the trunk and I noticed hundreds of pinecones littering the ground. I couldn’t not collect a bunch, now could I? LOL. Yes, I admit, I have a problem when it comes to collecting mother natures gifts!

Every summer I drag my son along for a walk when we are camping. He knows what I am up to when he spies me carrying a bag. Yes, we are on the hunt for “perfect pinecones”. Over the years he has helped me collect hundreds and hundreds of pinecones, big ones, little ones, round ones, pointy ones, even a few really beautiful rosette shaped ones.

I found these beautiful Cedar Rose pinecones along a walking trail near my office. One of mother nature’s most beautiful treasures.

One of my favorite DIY projects was using these rosette shaped pinecones to make these gorgeous napkin rings for my Thanksgiving table last year. I will be pulling them out again this year for sure!

Gorgeous Nature Inspired Napkin Rings for Your Thanksgiving Table

I’ve seen lot’s of images on Pinterest featuring bleached pinecones. I love the look but never tried doing it. The idea of using gallons of bleach did not sound very appealing. So I decided to try a less toxic process to change up the color of pinecones to achieve a similar look.

This process is very easy to do, costs next to nothing, and there is no bleach required.

Supplies:

• assorted pinecones
• chalk paint
• water
• plastic container
• gloves

I used some leftover paint that I had from another project. It was thick and gloopy and not thin enough to use as a paint anymore. Perfect for this project!

Mix together chalk paint and water in a plastic container large enough to fit the pinecones you are painting. I used about 1 part paint to 3 parts water.

Submerge pinecones, one at a time into the paint to coat completely.

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Lay out pinecones and allow them to dry.

Your pinecones may start to close up after being submerged in the paint water. You can set them out in the sun if the weather is nice or you can place them in the oven to dry them completely so that they open up again.

I placed my pinecones on a cookie sheet lined with foil and baked them at 150 degrees for 4 hours.

I love mixing in these “bleached” pinecones with natural pinecones. It’s a subtle difference but they provide a nice pop of color.

Now I’m thinking about other ways I can use these lovelies in my decor. Check back soon for some fabulous ideas for how to use bleached pinecones for the holidays!

Did You Make These?

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