Carolyn J. Braden • 3 Minute Read
How to Make Rose Gold and Vinyl Bow Pine Cone Ornaments
This pine cone ornament tutorial has been a year in the making. I bought a bunch of pine cones in 2023, sprayed them with rose gold spray paint and then I got stuck. Christmas came and went and I put them all in a box to see if inspiration would hit on what to do with them. Then in 2024, I dyed my hair rose gold and added the color all over my life, and then the ornament tutorial inspiration hit. Read on to learn how to make my rose gold and vinyl bow pine cone ornaments.
I hung my pine cone ornaments with others I created in 2024
Why I Love Pine Cones
I did a science experiment with pine cones (also called conifer cones) once where I got them wet to see how long it took for them to close up. Within a hour, my dry and sprawled out pinecones closed up like little tight trees. This mesmerized me and I’ve loved pine cones ever since. Pine trees are some of my favorite trees as I love hearing the wind blow through their needles. It sounds like a gentle beach.
I love the rose gold glitter!
Pine Trees Are Good for Your Health
Through an acquaintance, I learned her daughter had some lung issues and the family decided to move to an environment with more pine trees. Her research showed that the pine trees contain phytocides that are beneficial to respiratory health.
The completed rose gold ornament
Strangely enough, her research proved to be true. Her daughter’s health significantly improved and she didn’t struggle with respiratory issues anymore. Learn more about how beneficial pine trees are via Nature’s Wild Medicine’s website here.
The rose gold bow I made for each ornament
Nature’s Craft Supplies
My great aunt Sophia turned pine cones into little animal character ornaments. She also created Christmas ornaments with chestnut seed pods, nut shells and more. I truly love making things with natural finds as well, so I get my creative ideas naturally from seeing my great aunt do it. You don’t have to spend a bunch of money to make crafts as nature is very abundant in resources.
See my natural seashell Christmas trees (I found the shells on the beach near my home in Sanibel Florida) in my tutorial below or via my YouTube channel @carolynjbraden:
The Rose Gold Pine Cone Ornament Tutorial
Now for the project! Here’s what you need…if you get any supplies from Temu, use my code afe55197 for 30% off or use my link here (for new app users). Their low prices do allow for me create more crafts!
Supplies:
Pine Cones (Mine were leftover cinnamon ones I bought at a store, or you can find them in nature or get them on Amazon, at Walmart or on Temu)
Rose Gold Glitter spray paint (I got mine at Lowe’s and it was Glitter Blast by Krylon, but you can get other brands that are similar on Amazon too)
Eye Hooks (I used a brass diamond eye hook in size ¼” WL and got them in a set at Lowe’s, but you could use rounded ones in other sizes too….Amazon, and Walmart, have them too)
Thin Fluffy Yarn (For hanging, I got mine on Temu, but you can get yarn on Amazon, Walmart or many craft stores)
Scissors
Rotary cutting tool (I got my OLFA on Amazon, Walmart has it too)
Cutting mat (Mine is self-healing and it is great for use with the rotary cutting tool, Amazon)
Vinyl or Faux Leather Fabric (I got mine on Amazon in a rose gold set)
Hot glue gun set (Amazon, Use a low temperature…I burned myself too much using a high heat and the low worked just fine)
How-To:
Spray the dry pine cones with the rose gold glitter spray paint. I did this outside and laid them on a piece of cardboard to protect the surfaces. I let one coat dry and did a second one so they’d be extra glittery.
Loving the rose gold glitter spray paint
In the top of each pinecone, twist in an eye hook. You may have to pluck off a couple of pieces of the pine cone to reach this top. Go slow and they will twist right in. Use a pair of needle nose pliers to twist some in IF the top is hard to reach (this saves your hands from getting scratched up).
The eye hooks screw into pine cones fairly easily
Cut the faux leather or rose gold vinyl pieces into strips. Mine were about a half inch in width and I cut them into 12-inch-long strips. The rotary cutting tool does great with this or you can use scissors.
Creating the vinyl or faux leather bow
I cut the strips in half (to 6-inch-long pieces), then added hot glue to the center and folded in each side to create a looped bow.
Be careful with the hot glue when making the bows
I added another strip around the middle of the bow (carefully adding hot glue as I wrapped it) and cut it to fit. Be careful with the hot glue gun when doing this…a low temperature setting will work fine…I learned this the hard way…ouch!
Rose gold vinyl bows
Make as many bows as you need. You can vary the sizes of the bows depending on the size of the pine cones, but I kept all mine the same.
Adding yarn to the ornament for hanging
String some yarn through the eye hook and knot it for hanging on a Christmas tree. Hot glue the bows to the top of the ornaments
The rose gold pine cone ornament
Then the pine cone ornaments are done! I hung them on a wall tree we got from IKEA. Get a similar style of a wall tree on Amazon. This tree saves space and now displays many of the ornaments I’ve made in 2024.
Our IKEA wall Christmas tree displays my ornament crafts
If you loved this article, then I know you’ll love this one too:
How to Make Air Dry Bread Dough Clay Mushroom Ornaments
Carolyn J. Braden is the owner of Carolyn’s Blooming Creations is a regular contributor and editor for CBC. She has been featured in numerous media publications such as InStyle Magazine, on HGTV, on Bustle.com, and more. She is the author of the books Georgia McMasters in Amethyst Lake Cemetery, How To Be Yourself: 3 Ways To Help You Being You, and the illustrator for the children’s book Bridging Connections. She is a former classroom teacher that now dedicates her life to educating others on how to live their most healthy, creative and happy life. Learn more about her visiting our About Us page.