By Elyse Major
I have always liked pine cones. To me, they are like wooden roses in constant bloom. Because my backyard abuts a wooded area, it often looks very much like an autumnal wonderland. One would never know that just days ago, my family and I spent the day collecting fifteen bags of fallen leaves. However, I can’t quite bring myself to bag-up the pine cones so yesterday my boys and I gathered them up for a favorite outdoor craft: pine cone bird feeders.
After making many bird feeders and festooning the yard with them, there were still plenty of pine cones left for some outdoor decorating.
Even if you don’t have your own backyard, this is a fun take-along activity to do at a local park. Just be sure to watch for aggressive squirrels (Gladys Potter playground devotees will understand).
Supplies
Bird seed
Twine or string
Scissors
Peanut butter
Pine cones
How-To
Gather pine cones
Cut a piece of twine a yard or two in length and tie one pine cone to each end
Slather peanut butter over each pine cone with a dull spreader
Roll the covered pine cone in bird seed
Hang the pine cones from a tree branch (My boys enjoy this part and aim for high branches, hurling the pine cones high in the air for the twine to catch on a branch)
Elyse Major lives in northern Rhode Island with her husband and 2 sons. A “mostly” stay-at-home mom, Elyse works as a communications consultant for Neighborhood Health Plan of Rhode Island. When she is not avoiding oatmeal raisin cookies, Elyse can be found making things for her Etsy shop, Tinkered Treasures. Elyse’s article “De-Stressing by Distressing: A Mom Embraces Cottage Style” was recently published in Romantic Homes magazine.
a good bird seed is of course Sunflower seeds, birds like them coz they are tasty`;’
You could also use crisco (vegetable shortening) or lard in place of the peanut butter (it would provide a source of fat which the birds need during the cold winter!)
looks like fun, thanks for the post, love the pictures ! !
My daughter’s preschool class made these…with a variation. Because a little boy in the class has a nut allergy, the teacher subsituted icing (store bought is fine) for the peanut butter. Either way, they are cute and simple!
I too love pine cones! What a great idea. We will try it thursday when the kids are home from school. Thanks!
This looks like a great idea! Hopefully with no rain I can do this with my kids today. Thanks!
my kids would LOVE this!
thanks!
to answer laura’s question: i’m sure any edible sticky substance could work, like honey. thank you.
Great idea! We’ve done this with bread, but I like the pinecones even better!
This looks like a really cool idea!…and they look so sweet hanging from the tree!…I bet kids will love doing this….It’s a terrific idea for teachers to use in the classroom, too..simple and inexpensive!!…NICE!!!!
Oh fun. And yummy for the birds. I love your image of pinecones as wooden roses constantly in bloom. I don’t know if I’ve ever made one of these, but they’ve always fascinated me and I’m glad to know just the proper steps now. I like the hurling up into the tree things too. Fun for adults too.
Thanks for sharing.
Awesome idea! I will try it today!!
not only fun but good for the birds!
can the peanut butter be substituted for something else?