During the holidays, I love to fill my home with a warm and comforting scent. Pre-children, you could always find several candles and wax tarts in my living room. =) But toddlers + open flames = nothing good. So this year, I found myself reaching for scented pine cones at a local craft store. Then it hit me…why not create scented pine cones with my own custom scent?
As it turns out, scented pine cones are extremely easy to make. All you need are pine cones, fragrance, droppers and gloves. Scented pine cones at the craft store are usually scented with cinnamon. I love making them myself because I can customize with my favorite fragrance. I scented half of these pine cones with Cinnamon Sticks Fragrance Oil for a spicy and sweet scent, and half of the pine cones with Christmas Tree Cybilla Fragrance Oil for a classic Christmas scent. They smell absolutely amazing together! Half of the pine cones are in a bowl as a centerpiece in my living room, and the other half are nestled into my tree for extra scent.
In my tests, the scent was the strongest for the first 2 weeks. After two weeks they still smelled amazing, but were not as strong. I found my pine cones during a weekend stroll, but if you live in an area where pine cones are hard to come by, you can find them online. I’m so excited that this project turned out so well. Next year, I plan on making my scented pine cones into a wreath like this one. How cute would that be? Not to mention it would smell amazing! =)
What You’ll Need:
Pine cones (dried)
Fragrance/essential Oil of your choice (I used Christmas Tree Cybilla and Cinnamon Sticks)
Gloves
Droppers
ONE: Preheat the oven to 300 °F. Lay the pine cones on a cookie sheet (lined with aluminum foil if you’d like), and place in the oven for about 30-45 minutes. This helps to kill any bugs on the pine cones, and dries them out completely. If you find your pine cones are still damp, allow them to “bake” for another 10-15 minutes.
NOTE: If you bought your pine cones from a store already dry, you can skip this step.
TWO: Allow the pine cones to cool completely. Using a dropper, drop 3-5 mL of fragrance or essential oil onto each pine cone. Drop the scent in different areas to help evenly distribute the fragrance. I recommend placing newspaper on your work surface to help absorb any fragrance or essential oil that drips off the pine cones. Fragrance and essential oils will eat through plastic, so be sure to protect your work space accordingly. In addition, make sure you’re wearing gloves. Undiluted fragrance and essential oils can irritate the skin.
THREE: Allow the pine cones to sit overnight. This helps the fragrance fully absorb into the pine cone. I covered my work space with fresh newspaper to help absorb any drops. Once they are dry and no longer oily, they are ready to be placed in a large bowl or Christmas tree for display and scent. They could also be used on a wreath, garland, etc. In our tests, we found the scent stayed strong for at least 2 weeks.
These pine cones smell so amazing, I can’t wait to make them every year! What is your favorite holiday scent for the home?
- Pinecones (dried)
- Fragrance/Essential Oil of your choice (I used Christmas Tree Cybilla and Cinnamon Sticks)
- Gloves
- Droppers
- Preheat the oven to 300 °F. Lay the pine cones on a cookie sheet (lined with aluminum foil if you’d like), and place in the oven for about 30-45 minutes. This helps to kill any bugs on the pine cones, and dries them out completely. If you find your pine cones are still damp, allow them to “bake” for another 10-15 minutes. NOTE: If you bought your pine cones from a store already dry, you can skip this step.
- Allow the pine cones to cool completely. Using a dropper, drop 3-5 mL of fragrance or essential oil onto each pine cone. Drop the scent in different areas to help evenly distribute the fragrance. I recommend placing newspaper on your work surface to help absorb any fragrance or essential oil that drips off the pine cones. Fragrance and essential oils will eat through plastic, so be sure to protect your work space accordingly. In addition, make sure you’re wearing gloves. Undiluted fragrance and essential oils can irritate the skin.
- llow the pine cones to sit overnight. This helps the fragrance fully absorb into the pine cone. I covered my work space with fresh newspaper to help absorb any drops. Once they are dry and no longer oily, they are ready to be placed in a large bowl or Christmas tree for display and scent. They could also be used on a wreath, garland, etc. In our tests, we found the scent stayed strong for at least 2 weeks.
I have been so excited to use the blog this season, I started with furniture polish, tomorrow i make wax tarts, and I have a collection of dried pinecones, which BEG, to be made into a centerpiece wreath!!!!
Brambleberry ROCKS
Rima
That sounds like so much fun! I love the idea of making a wreath with the pine cones. Your house is going to smell so good. Have fun crafting, and thanks for your sweet comment Rima. 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
Simple Citrus Furniture Polish: http://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/home-crafts/simple-citrus-furniture-polish/
It says that the fragrance smell lasts about 2 weeks. Can I re-add the fragrance oil to pinecones every two weeks? Thanks!
Hi Myca!
I think that would be just fine! We scented them just the one time, but I think you can fragrance them as much as you like. You may try it on just one pine cone to be sure. 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
You didn’t use an s on the end of pinecone…. so is that 3 to 5 ml of scent per pinecone, or 3 to 5 ml of scent distributed evenly over all of the pinecones?
Hi Sherry!
That is 3-5 mL on each pine cone. Sorry about that. The recipe is updated to be more clear! 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
Very good idea, indeed! Have to make it 🙂
Thank you so much Claire! Have fun giving these a try. 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
a 5 ml bottle for each pinecone or several pinecones?
Hi Kay!
That is 3-5 mL per cone, which is basically one dropper full. Sorry about any confusion! I updated the recipe to be more clear. 🙂
Dropper: https://www.brambleberry.com/Droppers-With-Suction-Bulb-P3802.aspx
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
Ohhhhhhh, I’m so glad you posted this! I make pine cone wreaths for inside the house this time of year, so I will wire in a few scented ones too! As to your question…Bayberry is the scent I hunt down for my go-to Christmas Scent. I Love It!
Thank you so much Diana, glad you love this tutorial! These will make your pine cone wreaths smell awesome. 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
Time to go pine cone picking !!!
I think anise and cinnamon EO would smell great.
I think that would smell amazing too! Spicy and perfect for the holidays. 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
Anise Essential Oil: https://www.brambleberry.com/Anise-Essential-Oil-P3829.aspx
Cinnamon Leaf Essential Oil: https://www.brambleberry.com/Cinnamon-Leaf-Essential-Oil-P3641.aspx
What a great and easy idea! And if you can find those cute little tiny pine cones it would be a nice addition to a gift tag or something similar.
Thank you Michael, glad you like it! The tiny pine cones would look adorable on a gift for sure. 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry