Find out how to preserve pine cones and acorns that you find in your back yard so your fall decor stays bug and mold free for months.
Imagine creating a beautiful centerpiece by putting pine cones from your yard into a glass apothecary jar. You’re thrilled that you pulled together seasonal decor in just a few minutes.
Later that night, you’re eating dinner, with your centerpiece on the table when a small beetle crawls across your table. Then you see a spider crawling around inside your jar.
Or, let’s say you wanted a small and simple decoration in your entryway, so you filled a round vase with some acorns and set a wide candle on top. Cute, huh? Yes…until a few days later when mold starts to form on the acorns.
Fall provides some of the best decorations right in our own backyard.
I’ve even designed a Thanksgiving table runner and baptism reception entirely by using leaves, pinecones, and acorns from our neighborhood. How embarrassed would I have been if my decorations brought mold or insects to those celebrations?
I think mortified would about sum it up.
Thankfully, with some preparation, and planning, you can prevent both of those situations by simply cleaning and thoroughly drying your acorns and pine cones. It does take some time, but it’s totally worth the effort.
I first worked on preserving the hundreds of pine cones we collected by soaking them in our cooler filled with a bleach water solution.
Then, after they were dry enough to handle, I baked them in our oven until they were completely dry, and the sap had drained and hardened.
The nice thing about this method, too, is that it opens up the pine cones, so they are that beautiful shape you see in most store-bought pine cone decorations. It also makes your house smell a bit like you just washed the floors with Pine Sol!
As for the acorns, I decided to give white vinegar a try. And instead of the cooler, this time I used a small bucket.
After a good soak, and drying on the paper towels the acorns were ready for baking.
I just wish I could say that baked acorns smell as nice as baked pine cones. *sad face*
How to Preserve Pine Cones and Acorns for Decorating
Materials:
- Pine Cones and/or acorns
- Large tub or tote (recommended)
- water
- Bleach or White Vinegar
- Paper Towels
- Old jelly roll or sheet pan
- Aluminum Foil
Directions:
- Pick off as much debris as possible from your pine cones or acorns.
- Prepare a large bucket or tub with a 10 – 20% solution of bleach or vinegar.
- Submerge the pine cones/acorns and soak for at least 20 minutes, and no more than one hour.
- Remove the pine cones/acorns to paper towels or newspaper print to absorb most of the drips.
- Prepare an old sheet pan by covering it completely with aluminum foil. Preheat your oven to the lowest temperature. I baked our pine cones at 170, but you can go up as high as 200 degrees F. Any higher and you risk burning them
- Place the pine cones/acorns on the sheet pan, being careful not to put them too close together.
- Bake the pine cones/acorns for at least 30 minutes, or until they are completely dry. Check every 15 minutes or so to ensure that they don’t burn.
[clickToTweet tweet=”Natural decorations…without the bugs. #fall #nature #home via @PlayDatesParty” quote=”Natural decorations…without the bugs. #fall #nature #home”]
Tips for Preserving Pine Cones and Acorns:
- Freshly found pine cones and wet pine cones are often closed tight. If your pine cones were open before cleaning them in the solution, don’t panic when they come out looking closed. The drying process opens up most of the pine cones.
- Soaking the pine cones and acorns in White Vinegar or Bleach kills most molds. In this case, the oven is used to dry the items and kill off any possible remaining insects.
- Most of the acorn ‘hats’ will likely fall off when they are washed. If you want them back together, just use a little hot glue.
- When baking pine cones, the sap will run out, and is very sticky. The sap will harden when the pine cones cool off.
Now it’s Your Turn
Grab the materials list below and then let nature decorate your home this fall. Head outside with your kids and fill a trash bag or two of acorns and pine cones. Just make sure to dry them out properly before too long.
Do you like to collect pine cones and acorns for decorating?
What is your favorite way to decorate with natural items?
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Staci Samuels says
This is great! My daycare kiddos and I have been going on nature walks to collect for projects to send home!
Janine Huldie says
I never thought about how to preserve pine cones, but totally going to have to give this a try now when I can. Thanks for sharing!! 🙂 #happynowlinkup
Holly from klinwin.com says
Thanks for sharing; we’re going to use these tips this fall. #happynowlinkup
Tamara says
I’ve never even considered what baked acorns would smell like!! Too bad it’s not as delicious as baked pinecones. YUM.
You really make fall come alive!
Dana says
I have baked pine cones so I could put them in glass cylinders on my mantel, but I didn’t soak them in bleach first, so many of them are still closed. Thanks for the tip – I will have to do that next time!
I like the wreath in your pinnable image – did you make that? I think I may have to search for pine cone home decor on Pinterest now.
Leanne @Smiles and Sundays says
Ya know, I never would have thought that I’d have to do anything to the “nature” that I bring in to decorate. But you are SO right, I would be mortified to find mold or creepy crawlers hanging around. Great post not only did I learn something new, but now I’ve gotta go on the hunt for some pine cones and acorns to give it a try because I went shopping for fall decor this past weekend and just couldn’t bring myself to pay the high prices for it this year. Thanks for sharing the ideas! #TwinklyTuesday
Sam says
This is amazing. Just the other day I went out collecting pines cones with my toddler and was horrified by the insects we brought back with us. I will definitely be doing this from now on! Thank you for the fab advice.
#TwinklyTuesday
Pat says
I collect many pine cones on my walks and hope to someday make a wreath out of them. I will try your preservation method on them–thanks for the idea!
Jess says
What neat ideas you have here! Seems easy! 🙂
I would love for you to share this with my Facebook Group for recipes, crafts, tips, and tricks: https://www.facebook.com/groups/pluckyrecipescraftstips/
Thanks for joining Cooking and Crafting with J & J!
Barbara Radisavljevic says
I think you’ve covered all the bases on how to process the acorns and pine cones. I never even considered the insect/spider problem, but I’ve never tried to make a centerpiece with acorns and pine cones yet, either. I certainly have plenty of both available to me. Great job on this with very clear instructions.
Michele says
I love the look of pinecones and other natural materials, but haven’t taken advantage because of the problems you described. Thanks for sharing an easy solution!
Grandmas House DIY says
Thank you for sharing with us at the To Grandma’s house we go link party, I’ll featuring you tomorrow on my site when the new party starts!
Mary says
Talk about coincidence. I went for a walk this morning and found a bunch of pine cones. I hauled them home but by the time I got home I was full of sticky resin. I am definitely going to use your method to clean them up. Thanks!!
Michelle Leslie says
Oh that must be so embarrassing when a creepy crawly suddenly decides to pop out of a pine cone and join the party. I can just picture it 😀 Thanks for the cleaning tips Leslie. I’ll remember that next time
my bright ideas blog says
I’m pinning this for reference for the future. Thanks for the info.
Jann Olson says
Thanks for sharing these great tips! I remember a friend of mine gathering acorns and put them in a clear glass vase. The next morning there were little worms crawling all around inside. EEK! Thanks for sharing with SYC.
hugs,
Jann
Donna @ Modern on Monticello says
I have done the pinecone method but have never been sure about how to clean and disinfect the acorns. Thanks for sharing these tips. Now I will be sure to collect those this year as well. #HomeMattersParty
Mickey says
Hello
I have acorns and pine cones that I have collected over the last few years. Can I still wash and bake them to use for crafts?
Leslie says
You can certainly try to use this method with old acorns and pinecones, however, they might be more susceptible to cracking. I’ve only ever used this method with fresh pine cones and acorns. Another alternative you might want to consider is to covering them in paint. That way they’re covered and you won’t risk splitting or cracking.
Mary says
I soak my pinecones in vinegar water for 20 minutes and let them dry but they still have a white fungus on I tried to brush it off no luck how can I get it off.
Leslie says
You might want to try bleach, or use a stronger solution. And is it still persisting after you bake the pine cones?