If you have seen our recent projects, you know we love succulent crafts! We use faux succulents for some projects, but they can be very expensive, especially the big ones. So we found a substitute and it’s free! Painted pine cones! Pine cones come in all shapes and sizes and they all look like succulents! We’ve used them in all kinds of projects. Here are some of our favorite pine cone succulents projects along with a video how-to:
Pine Cone Succulents Wreath
Here’s a wreath we made with painted pine cone succulents. We based the colors on a real succulent arrangement we found on Pinterest. (See it here.) If we had used faux succulents from the crafts store, this wreath would have cost a fortune. But we used pine cones! So it was less than ten dollars! Woot! (Here’s the how-to if you want to make this wreath.)
Pine Cone Succulents Vertical Garden
Here’s a vertical wall garden we made with painted pine cone succulents. We think it turned out really nice. Our color story is yellow, green, and aqua, but you could make it in any succulent colors. And they come in a lot of colors! (Here’s the how-to for the Vertical Garden if you want to make one.)
Upcycled Planters With Pine Cone Succulents
We love looking for thrift store finds we can upcycle into planters for our pine cone succulents. We bought this tea pot, creamer, and jelly pot for less than $6! And of course the pine cone succulents were free!
How To Paint Pine Cones To Look Like Succulents
Here’s a video we made showing how we paint pine cones to look like succulents:
Materials
Pine cones (all kinds work!)
Acrylic craft paint
Long-handled rose bypass loppers or a handsaw
Craft paintbrush
Steps
1. Collect Pine Cones
Go for a walk and see what pine cones you find. We discovered all kinds in our neighborhood. Some come from tall pine trees, but others come from smaller bush-like plants. And they come in so many sizes! We live near Redwood Trees and they have tiny pine cones smaller than grapes. We also have Deodora Cedars which have rose-shaped pine cones. If you can’t find pine cones in your neighborhood, craft stores sell them by the bag. Look in the floral section.
2. Cut Pine Cones
Some pine cones are just too big or tall to use in succulent arrangements. We tried a few different ways to cut them in half. A hand saw works, but it is hard to cut them! Rose pruning shears or by-pass loppers work like magic, though. Just lop those pine cones right in half. And you can use both halves! The bottoms look like succulents too.
3. Paint Pine Cones
Paint the pine cones with acrylic craft paint. We like to do two layers of color, a darker one all over and a highlight on the tips. We think it helps to look at pictures of real succulents. We have a Pinterest board of succulent projects – most made with real succulents. We refer to the images when we paint our pine cones. (See it here.)
What do you think? Are you inspired to paint your own pine cone succulents? We’d love to hear what projects you want to do with them. Leave us a comment. We’d love to hear from you!
Happy Crafting,
Jennifer & Kitty
We love getting pinned!
Beautiful!
Thanks!
Love your ideas of using pinecones as a (free) subsitution for succulents. My friend and I are both cancer survivors and have been planting real succulents in unique pots, selling them at different events and then giving part of the proceeds to our local Cancer Cares Fund…..we call ourselves “Cancer Succs”. We are starting to realizing how difficult it is to pack up and unpack our creations for these events and were trying to think of what we could do that wouldn’t be so hard to transport and also care for. So we’ve been trying to think of something else we could do that wouldn’t be quite so labor intensive….I think your idea fits the bill. I live in an area where pinecones should be pretty accessable so I can’t wait to give it a try. Thank you for the inspiration and know that the end results will be going to a good organization. I believe in this day and age….everyone knows someone who has been diagnosed with cancer or have been diagnosed themselves. We looked at it as turning a negetive situation into a positive by giving back and hopefully helping someone else.
Wow what a great thing to do! We love the name “Cancer Succs”. So glad the idea of subbing pine cones might work for you. They are very lightweight and come in all shapes!
Good luck!
J&K
I’m in the process of making a sprey for above my fire place. The colors are Lite Salmon, off white with black centers made with cut pine cones that look like different flowers. I can’t wait to see how it turns out.
Wow Marla that sounds elegant and dramatic! Let us know how it turns out!
Cheers,
Jennifer & Kitty
I look forward to seeing your beautiful things! I have sisters and we like working together! Thank you!
Hooray for sisters!!
love this idea , i’m going to use it as an activity for my Dementia residents , we will paint pine cones( i have collected some from local pine garden ) one day and fix them into a frame on day two , then hang in common lounge area for all to admire
That’s a wonderful idea! J&K
Great Idea! For sisters and girlfriends.
Thanks
Thanks Mary!
Beautiful ideas
Thanks Terry!
What a great project! Thank you for sharing. I’m excited to try this
Thanks Audrey! Have fun!
J&K
These are so beautiful and what a wonderful idea to use pine cones in place of succulent plants. Great ideas ladies, thank you for sharing.
Thanks Norma!
Great job. I love your bright tops top. They fit the part
Thanks Nancy!
Hi there simply love crafty n beautiful ideas!
I would love to forward a few of your ideas onto my friend please,can I send it by ordinary email,as we don’t have face book twitter n others. Thanks if you can help me.
Cheers Dale
Perth
Western Australia ?
Thanks Dale! Feel free to forward our posts to your friend! Email should work fine. Let us know if you need any help!
Are you subscribed to our newsletter? We send new ideas all the time!
Cheers,
J&K
After watching your great video, I’ve been collecting pine cones to make my own reef. However I have noticed that with the weather temp changes from cold to warm and back again, the cones have been opening and closing. Have you ever made a pine cone display and had the cones open or close when the temps change?
Great question Sherry! We haven’t seen that happen, but it makes sense. We’d imagine once they are painted they won’t react as much to the weather. Let us know your results!
J&K
Do y’all have a video showing how to actually attach cones to the wire rack?
Hi Sherry! We don’t have a video, but we did a step-by-step how to for a terrific blog called Kenarry Ideas For The Home. Here’s the link: https://www.kenarry.com/faux-succulent-vertical-garden/
Let us know if you have any questions,
J&K