I had never heard of bleached pine cones, until I saw this photo.
Shortly thereafter, I filtered through my craft box,
hoping to find some pine cones I could play with.
Shortly thereafter, I filtered through my craft box,
hoping to find some pine cones I could play with.
I began with two larger ones, submerging them in a mixture of
water and bleach (1:1 ratio) and allowing them to sit over night.
The next day, I was disappointed to see the colour had not changed
and thought they perhaps required more time and/or more bleach.
So I added a little more bleach and left them there for an additional 24hrs.
When I checked on them the next morning I was even
more disappointed to see that the pine cones were actually
disintegrating. Fail. But I wasn’t ready to give up…
I decided to research if anyone else had tried this crazy idea
of bleaching pine cones, and guess what? I found a couple
of tutorials showing how to do it. So I decided to try again.
of bleaching pine cones, and guess what? I found a couple
of tutorials showing how to do it. So I decided to try again.
You will need:
Pine cones (fully opened)
Bleach
Water
1. Place pine cones in a mixture of bleach and water (2:1 ratio)
2. Because pine cones float, I placed another bowl on top of the pine cones and weighed it down with cans to keep them fully submerged
3. Wait for 24hrs. You will notice the pine cones have now closed up and have not fully lost their color; don’t panic
4. Rinse pine cones with fresh water
5. Place pine cones on a tray and set them out in the sun; as the pine cones dry they will reopen and the discoloration will occur
6. If you are impatient (like myself), you can place them in a lined cookie sheet and place them in the oven for 45-60 mins at 250F. Monitor regularly to see their progress. Remove once opened.
I love them and can’t wait to start using them around the house for Christmas.
Have you ever seen bleached pine cones? Was the same method used?
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Lucy I will be trying this. I’ve painted and glittered them but not bleached and it looks like a beautiful idea 🙂 Thanks for the inspiration!
Susan
Fantastic! I was just going to spray mine Lucy, but this is a great way to do it! Thank you! Your table setting looks beautiful!
Yes, I’ve bleached pinecones and love the effect! I did a post on bleaching back in mid October and got lovely responses. I was amazed at the different appearances of each cone after drying. I had no problems bleaching them using straight dollar store bleach.
Hi Gail. I am having such a hard time with this. I did the 2 parts bleach to 1 part water mixture. I waited them down. By the time 24 hrs came around they were definitely closed up, not at all bleached out and some were disintegrating. AH!!! I’m so frustrated. Can you or someone else help?
Ooooooh, really love the look! Never saw bleached pine cones before either and I’m intrigued!
Jeanine
I have never heard of such a thing but I’m am so loving the look. Can’t wait to try my hand at it.
These are beautiful, NEVER would have thought of this, definitely a must try! Thanks for sharing 🙂
These are really beautiful, Lucy. Plenty of pine cones around here.
Beautiful! I will be trying this. Thank you for idea.
Wowza! gonna try this – thanks for the crafty idea…Happy Holidays
Must try. Thanks for sharing.
These are beautiful and such a cool idea. Thanks for testing it out!
Lucy. I havd never seen bleached pincones but they look amazing.
What a great project Lucy! Heading off to Pin It and Share it!
Wow, found you via FB. I have painted and glitter them but have not heard of bleaching them! Pinning it. Love the look.
Vidya @ Whats Ur Home Story
http://www.whatsurhomestory.com
Love this idea. I have a big bag of cones, now all I need is some bleach. Thanks for the tutorial!
Hi Lucy! I published the same post yesterday! I’m having such fun using them in my holiday decorating. The color is AMAZING! Beautiful photos! Hugs, Kimberly
Very pretty, Lucy. 🙂
Love Lucy!!!
Oh love this idea Lucy! I use pinecones to decorate but have never thought of this. A perfect compliment to my other decor! Thanks so much for sharing!
I’ve been meaning to bleach some pinecones, thanks for the tutorial! I actually included this in my Friday Favorites 🙂
I’ll be collecting pinecones tomorrow with my little grandboy! Thank you for telling how-to , they look pretty!
Happy Thanksgiving! Linda