Imaginative decorations made from natural materials make Christmas more festive and create a special atmosphere. Get in the mood for the upcoming celebration with modern, puristic arrangements in muted tones and create a gentle transition between the autumn and winter decorations. Transform your house into a winter fairy tale with snowy fir branches, wooden stars and cotton tablecloth. Homemade Christmas wreaths, table decorations or garlands look particularly charming. White pine cones often play the main role. They prove to be an atmospheric, puristic alternative to traditional color duos such as green and brown and give the interior a modern touch. We will show you DIY instructions and explain in detail how you can bleach the pine cones and give you some ideas for stylish presentations. Get inspired!
The necessary materials for bleaching the pine cones
You don't need a lot of materials for your project - you probably already have most of them lying around the house anyway. Here comes the detailed list:
Two plastic buckets, larger and smaller. Make sure that the small one fits in the large one.
Bleach of your choice
Water
Brick, glass bottle filled with water or any other object you can use as a weight.
Pine cones
Backsoda (Natron)
Rubber gloves
Use bleach safely
First, collect the pine cones and let them dry in a warm, well-ventilated room for 2-3 days. You can place the cones on newspaper and then turn them over twice a day. It is generally very easy to whiten pine cones. In any case, you have to be patient - because it takes up to two weeks for them to completely change their color. In the meantime, you should choose a well-ventilated room in the house where you can store the plastic bucket with the cones. This could be the laundry room, for example – provided it has a window. Children and animals should not have access to the room. If you want to bleach pine cones, there are a few rules you need to follow. Extra care must be taken when handling bleach. Always wear rubber gloves and long-sleeved blouses. Ventilate the room well before going in and while you are inside.
White pine cones – the DIY instructions
Once you have everything prepared and the pine cones are dry, you can start bleaching them. Put on rubber gloves and pour about 1 1/2 liters of bleach into the large plastic bucket. Pour another 1/2 liter of lukewarm water and carefully dip the pine cones into the bucket. Cover the cones with the smaller plastic bucket and place the bricks on top. Let the pine cones soak for a day, then check the next day to see if they are still completely brown or have already started to change color. If you are still completely tan after 24 hours, you can add 1/2 liter of bleach. Wait another 24 hours and then remove the pine cones and rinse them under running water. Then place it in the small bucket, pour lukewarm water over it and shake gently. Discard the water. Sprinkle the pine cones with 1/2 cup of baking soda. The baking soda is intended to neutralize the unpleasant smell of the bleach. Pour lukewarm water into the plastic bucket, shake and throw the water out. Under no circumstances should you place the pine cones in the oven, next to the fireplace or the radiator. It is best to let the wet pine cones dry on the balcony or terrace. It will take about 10 days for them to dry completely. Then they will slowly open again.
Bleach pine cones and decorate with artificial snow
Snowy pine conesgive shape to the Christmas anticipation and create a romantic atmosphere at the table. Here's how you can fake the look: buy fine white sand from the craft shop. Brush the pine cones with glue and dip them into the fake snow. Leave them aside to dry.
White decoration ideas
And the end result looks so fascinating - you can arrange the snowy pine cones in a bowl. Together with rope and cotton branches, they form an attractive arrangement in a maritime living style.
Pine cones and pumpkins are a popular duoat the festive tablefor Thanksgiving. But even afterwards, a tone-on-tone arrangement breathes a wintry atmosphere into the interior. White pine cones and pumpkins of the “Baby Boo” variety look particularly attractive.
The bleached pine cones last a very long time and are weatherproof - they can therefore easily be used as part of the decoration at the entrance to the house.
If you want to let your creativity run wild, you can make a garland out of driftwood, bells and pine cones. Together with wooden poinsettias, the garland can decorate the mantel.
For optimal effect, you can wrap a chain of lights around the puristic garland - it creates exciting lighting effects in the evening.
Or you can add color accents with red Christmas tree balls. If you prefer natural materials, choose rosehip.
Exactly in keeping with the mix-and-match trend, unbleached and bleached pine cones can be easily combined.
You can even make a Christmas tree out of white pine cones. You can find further suggestions in the photo gallery below.
