Summer Camp Crafts: Pine Cone Pineapples

I have taken this craft out of the archives and dusted it off as it is a great partner to my pine cone animals post. Plus it truly is one of the cutest nature crafts ever, right? And pineapples can be any color, not just yellow as long as you have a few yellow ones in the bunch. Best of all, you’ll hopefully have to take a nature walk to collect the pinecones, so enjoy!

I have been wanting to make pinecone pineapples for a few months now, and even painted the pinecones yellow before Passover, and finally found the time to give this fantastic summer craft, that would be a perfect summer camp craft a try. And wow, the results are so adorable you’ll want to make a whole bunch, I know I do! You can use your pineapple pinecones as decorations for part of a tropical party, or as whiimsical decorations any time. Line up a few on a shelf and you’ll smile every time you see them, or hang some mobile style. And of course if you want to be a little bit different, how about hanging some pineapple pinecones in your succah? Succot is among other things, a fall harvest festival, and in Israel that means pomegranites and dates, but it could certainly mean pineapples as well, right?

Regardless of whether you have a plan for your pinecone pineapples, gather some pinecones and get crafting, I’m sure a great idea will come to you. If not simply display them on a little shelf which is where mine are sitting right now, looking as cute as ever! Best of all, once you get the hang of how to make these, you really could whip up quite a few, even as fun Bar or Bat Mitzvah, birthday or wedding centerpieces, so lets get crafting! (Note: If you do plan on making a large quantity, I would paint them by dipping them into a large container of paint, so much easier!)

And regarding my previous comment about dip painting them (for adults only), you will avoid those little dark spots that were too hard to reach as you can see in my photo above. Of course you could spray paint them, but spray paint is truly toxic and should be avoided unless absolutely necessary in my opinion.

You’ll Need:

• pinecones (wash and set aside to dry)
• yellow acrylic craft paint (or semi gloss latex house paint if going for the dipping suggestion)
• paper: green card stock in 2 shades or white card stock and green pastels or markers to color the paper (my green paper was white on one side so I used green pastels to color that side)
• a large paint brush (for coverage) a small paint brush (for the nooks), scissors, a pencil
• a hot glue gun (with supervision) or high tack craft glue

How To Make Pineapple Pinecones In Five Steps:

1. Paint your pinecones yellow. You will likely need several coats for the best results.
2. Cut out leaves as follows: five or six small leaves (no taller than half the height of the pinecone) in dark green, and five or six taller leaves (no taller than the height of the pine cone) in light green, plus two taller leaves in dark green.
3. Glue small leaves to center of pine cone as shown. You may need to remove a few of the top scales or bend them towards the center. Each pine cone is a bit different, so you’ll just have to play it by ear. The main idea is to create a spot such that the leaves can be easily attached.
4. Glue 5 or 6 light green larger leaves behind the smaller leaves. Then add 2 dark green larger leaves opposite one another.
5. Gently curl back larger leaves using your fingers, or lightly curl them around a pencil. If leaves look too large, trim them.

That is it! Now go make a whole bunch. They look amazing as is just about anywhere! And please do share your results!

PS: I was thinking that some paper hibiscus flowers would be a perfect accompaniment to these pineapples, especially if you want to hang them mobile style cover the mobile ring or stick with flowers and leaves and the look will be amazing!

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