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The scent of cinnamon triggers so many emotions of a cozy home, the Holidays, and sweet pastries coming out of the oven. It’s a classic scent that most everyone is familiar with. If you want your house to smell like this on a regular basis throughout the season, then follow along and learn how to make cinnamon pine cones that will give your home that feel-good smell through the season.
I love walking into store decorated for the Holidays and getting a whiff of that spicy cinnamon scent. The scent is on decorative brooms, pine cones, and candles left out for customers to snap up. Cinnamon scented pine cones are my favorite fall and winter decor for my house as they serve multiple purposes.
Why Make Your Own Scented Pine Cones?
The problem with these lovely smelling pine cones sold in stores is that they are usually made with artificial or synthetic fragrances. The chemicals in these fragrances can cause quite a problem for people who are sensitive.
These artificial fragrances often contains phthalates and hundreds of chemicals to mimic the smell of something natural which can be toxic to your health.
So, because of this I prefer to make my own cinnamon scented pine cones for the house and get to breath the beautiful air at the same time. Making these are super easy to do, are pretty inexpensive, and the scent is 100% natural lasting way longer than store-bought even!
I use all natural essential oils, but if you don’t have essential oils, you can also use ground cinnamon to add that fun fall scent to your pine cones.
Here is a link to the cinnamon bark essential oil I use. I find this type of cinnamon works best with the pine cones or potpourri and allows for a nice strong natural aroma. The cinnamon leaf oil does not seem to last long and/or the scent just doesn’t really “stick”. This is also therapeutic grade so if you wanted to use for massage, etc. you could.
Always be sure to dilute essential oil! This is very important especially if you come into contact it with your skin- it can cause itching or burning because of the natural undiluted strength.
Items need for this Project:
- Pine Cones (if you can’t find them at the park or out doors.)
- Cinnamon Bark essential oil
- Spray Jars
- Zip lock plastic Bags
How To Make Cinnamon Pine cones
Cinnamon Scented Pine Cone Recipe
Equipment
- Cookie Sheet
- Large Ziplock Bag
- Glass Spray Bottle
- Oven
Ingredients
- 12 Pine cones Any style or species of pine cone will work. We usually find a bunch on our walks
- 1 large sheet of tinfoil
- 20 drops 100% Natural Cinnamon Essential Oil
- 1/4 cup water
Instructions
- Collect approximately 12 fallen pine cones from the ground
- Clean the pine cones so they are free from debris, bugs and sap
- Preheat your oven to 200 degrees F and line a cookie sheet with foil. Place the pine cones on the cookie sheet.
- Bake the pine cones in the oven for about 35 minutes.
- Take them out of the oven and let them cool slightly.
- In the meantime, you will need to mix up your essential oil spray. Put 1/4 cup water and 20 drops of cinnamon essential oil in a spray bottle. Shake well.
- Place your pine cones in a big ziploc bag and spray them with the essential oil mixture with about 4-6 sprays. (You can do this multiple times if your bag isn't big enough for all the pine cones)
- Close the bag up and shake them around. You can add additional sprays until your find your desired strength.
- Finally seal the bag and leave in a place to dry or until all of the moisture and essential oil is soaked up by the pine cones. About a day.
- Use as decor or scent in any room of the house!
Notes
Start by gathering some pine cones from your local park or on a walk through the neighborhood. If you can’t find any lying around, you can purchase plain unscented ones from a craft store or online. Here is a link to some on Amazon.
You can use any type of pine cones you find on the ground. The small closed up one are just fine too as once you warm them in the oven they tend to open up and look pretty.
Once you have your pine cones, you will need to clean them up and make sure no dirt, bugs, or chunks of sap are on them. I just use an old scrub brush to clean with soap and water. Once complete, now you ready to make cinnamon scented pine cones!
Instructions
Once they are prepped and ready, you will preheat your oven to 200 degrees F and line a cookie sheet with foil. Place the pine cones on the cookie sheet side by side. Place the pine cones in warm oven for about 35-45 minutes depending on their size. You want them to be open, warm and bug free!
The oven will heat up any remaining sap on the pine cones which will fall onto the cookie sheet- so its super import you use foil or you risk ruining a cookie sheet!
After the timer is done, take the pine cones out of the oven and let them cool just a bit so you can touch them. Then place them into a large or jumbo sized ziplock bag. You can use any type of plastic bag as long as you can seal the top well.
Find a glass spray bottle- re-purpose one or buy a new one and add 1/4 cup water with about 20 drops of the cinnamon bark essential oil. Shake well. You can use a cleaned out recycled plastic spray bottle as well but you should be sure to rinse it out or throw away after as real essential oils are very strong and can actually eat away at plastic. You should never keep your essential oils stored in plastic as you don’t want to spray or inhale plastic form these containers!
I like to use my amber glass bottles and keep the spray around, using it later to refresh the pine cones. Spray the pine cones in the ziplock bag about 5 times so the scent gets all over and is strong enough for your liking. Then seal the bag and give a few good careful shakes- you don’t want to take off any of the petals.
Leave the pine cones in the bag for a good day or more until all the scent and moisture has been absorbed completely. If you over-sprayed or they are just too wet, stick them back on the oven for a few minutes and they will be dry.
Once dried and smelling fabulous, you are ready to use and decorate with your new amazing diy cinnamon pine cones!
Alternative Method -using Cinnamon Powder:
If you do not have essential oils, you can use ground cinnamon powder. The same stuff found in your local grocery stores or possibly in your own kitchen cabinet is fine. You will use the same process above with the pine cones, heating them in the oven.
After they have cooled you need to apply some craft glue all over the cones and then sprinkle cinnamon powder. I will place the cones on a flat dry plastic cutting board and sprinkle the cinnamon on top. Then shake off the excess into a bowl and keep pouring on top of the pine cones until each cone is thoroughly covered in spice.
They should smell amazing. Once completely covered, place in a cool, moisture-free location to air dry.
Note: Because these use a fine powder, they may leave material behind. When placing on table tops or mantles I suggest keeping these in a nice pretty bowl to eliminate any mess leftover.
How to Use DIY Cinnamon Pine cones
Your lovely cinnamon pine cones can be used as seasonal decor in a number of fun ways! You can simply add them into a basket or bowl and leave them out to make your home smell amazing. Tie a colorful ribbon around the basket for an added splash of fun.
You can also use these in creating hanging wreaths for your front door or inside. Use them on the mantle along with other decorations and ornaments to create a beautiful fall or winter fireplace scene. Or you can organize them on your dining room table as well.
You can also use them to create potpourri by taking a few of the pines cones and placing them in with some other oil infused items you have created or dried (like orange peels). Cinnamon goes particularly well with vanilla and cloves. Some other complimentary scents are ginger, Cardamom, bergamot, Frankincense, Lemon, Wild Orange,and ylang ylang.
You can use these diy cinnamon scented pine cones as home decor during the Fall and Winter holidays, including Halloween. Alongside these pretty diy halloween pumpkin ideas they make a lovely statement and transition well into the Holiday season.
Did you make this project? Send us a pic or tag us on Instagram and show us your fun!
