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You are here: Home / Crafts / Seasonal / How To Make Pine Cone Christmas Tree With Lights

How To Make Pine Cone Christmas Tree With Lights

8th November 2017 by Claire Armstrong 68 Comments

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DIY Cute & Colourful LED Pine Cone Christmas Tree

Every day, I walk the dog down our local park and the ground is covered with lovely pine cones. Sometimes I can’t help myself I pick a couple up and bring them home with the intention of creating something with them.

They just sit in a bucket in the fireplace.

However, the other day I was looking at the pine cones and it struck me that they look like a mini Christmas tree. That’s when I got the idea to make my mini pine cone Christmas tree with lights ornaments.

One of my favourite things to recycle is tin cans. So I decided to use a tin can as my Christmas tree pot but also add colour to it by painting the can with a marbled effect.

Also what Christmas tree is complete without lights. I think these colourful mini pine cone Christmas tree looks really cute and make a lovely desktop Christmas decoration.

My kids want me to make them one each for their rooms, which I will do as I have a plentiful supply of pine cones.

How to make a cute illuminated pine cone Christmas tree in a marble pot. This colorful Christmas tree complete with copper lights will brighten up any desk. #christmascrafts #christmas #pinecone #christmaslights

This post contains Amazon affiliate links for your convenience. Click here to see my disclosure policy.

What you need to make Pine Cone Christmas Tree with Lights

    • Pine cone – Medium sized is best
    • Small tin can – the ones that are half the size of the normal tin cans

Pine cone and tin can

    • Hot glue gun
    • Stiff cardboard or foam
    • Small piece of brown felt
    • Green spray paint
    • Cream spray paint
    • Scissors
    • Red nail polish – not the fast drying kind
  • Battery operated copper string lights – You want the ones with a small 2 battery pack or micro battery operated.

How to make a mini pine cone Christmas tree

    1. Firstly wash and carefully dry the pine cone and then spray paint it green all over.
    1. Next spray paint the tin can cream.

    1. When the paint has dried on the tin can it is then ready for marbling. To do this in a tub of warm water add a few drops of nail varnish so that it forms a film on the surface of the water. If the varnish doesn’t spread out you can use a cocktail stick to help it spread across the surface of the water.

      pouring nail polish onto water for marbling

    1. Then carefully dip the outside edge of the tin can into the water. The varnish will cling to the tin can and as you roll the can cover it completely.

Assembling the pine cone Christmas tree.

    1. Draw around the tin can onto the cardboard and felt and cut out a disc of each material to fit the top of the tin can. Glue the discs together and pierce a small hole through the disc to one side. Thread the copper string lights through this hole.

    1. Using a hot glue gun, glue the pine cone to the center of the felt disc. Then wrap the string lights around the pine cone Christmas tree.

      putting lights on pinecone christmas tree.

  1. Place the battery pack inside the marble tin can and then place the tree on top as a lid.

    Cute pine cone Christmas tree with lights and tin can

Cute illuminated desk top pine cone Christmas tree ornament.

Make a cute colourful illuminated pine cone Christmas tree to brighten up your desk.

Great craft to do with the kids, make desk top illuminated mini pine cone Christmas trees.

How to make a cute illuminated pine cone Christmas tree in a marble pot. This colorful Christmas tree complete with copper lights will brighten up any desk. #christmascrafts #christmas #pinecone #christmaslights
How to make a cute illuminated pine cone Christmas tree in a marble pot. This colorful Christmas tree complete with copper lights will brighten up any desk. #christmascrafts #christmas #pinecone #christmaslights

There are many more painted pine cone ideas here.

You might want to check out some of my other popular DIY Christmas decorations posts.

Tin Can Upcycled Advent Calendar
Upcycled Shuttlecock Angel
Upcycled Sweater Felt Garland
Sweater Upcycled Christmas Ornaments

Or if you are looking for more pine cone Christmas crafts there is a lot here on allfreeChristmas crafts.


Filed Under: christmas, Crafts, Seasonal, Tin Cans Tagged With: christmas, christmas decoration, Christmas tree, copper lights, decoration, illuminated, LEd, marbilised, marble, marbling, marblized, ornament, pine cone, pine cone Christmas tree, pinecone, string lights, tin can, tin cans, tree

Previous Post: « Unique Ways To Make A DIY Christmas Advent Calendar
Next Post: Easy Christmas Bottle Lights To Illuminate Your Home »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. CardioGod

    20th December 2017 at 1:46 pm

    Interesting idea! I’d decorate the pot in a more Christmas related style.

    Reply
    • Claire Armstrong

      20th December 2017 at 10:12 pm

      Thank you ?

      Reply
      • Linda Casper

        2nd December 2019 at 12:06 pm

        Thank you. I really like this!!

        Reply
        • Claire Armstrong

          3rd December 2019 at 8:00 pm

          Thank you so much.

          Reply
  2. moazzam sultan

    29th November 2017 at 11:23 am

    very nice and cool.

    Reply
    • Claire Armstrong

      29th November 2017 at 11:46 am

      Thank you!

      Reply
      • Kelly Lewis

        18th November 2019 at 8:07 am

        I alwYs pick out a craft to make each Christmas and I love nature and especially pine cones. One year,as I was looking for my annual craft I found a folk tale about silver pine cones that I found really cute. So I made everyone silver pine cones, put them in really adorable gift boxes and included a copy of the folk tale. Quite a few of the people I made them for still have them over 8 years later, gift box, silver pine cone and folk tale!

        Reply
        • Claire Armstrong

          19th November 2019 at 7:01 am

          That sounds like a really lovely and thoughtful gift no wonder people kept them.

          Reply
        • Ruth

          30th November 2019 at 2:02 am

          Can you please post the folk tale?

          Reply
          • Claire Armstrong

            30th November 2019 at 6:44 am

            Sorry, I’m not sure what you mean?

  3. Mother of 3

    22nd November 2017 at 7:58 pm

    What a cute idea! We’ve used pine cones to make ornaments before but never to make the actual tree. Thanks for sharing this fun craft idea with us at the Virtual Refrigerator. Pinned.

    Reply
    • Claire Armstrong

      22nd November 2017 at 8:00 pm

      Pine cones are great for so many crafts.

      Reply
  4. Twochicksandamom/Donna

    22nd November 2017 at 1:48 am

    Hi. Two Chicks and a Mom featured your cute Christmas Tree at Party in Your PJs this week–hope you can stop by again!
    https://twochicksandamom.blogspot.com/2017/11/thanksgiving-week-party-in-your-pjs.html

    Reply
    • Claire Armstrong

      22nd November 2017 at 6:43 am

      Thank you so much I look forward to seeing it. Happy Thanksgiving!

      Reply
  5. Michelle James

    18th November 2017 at 5:33 pm

    Wow! This is such a cool idea!

    Reply
    • Claire Armstrong

      18th November 2017 at 7:43 pm

      Thank you, Michelle.

      Reply
  6. Julie

    18th November 2017 at 3:33 pm

    This is such a clever idea. I love the marbling on the can too – I tried that a while back and it’s such fun isn’t it? I’m sure someone in our family has a tree with those tall thin pinecones on it, I’ll have to check, they could work really well for this idea.

    Reply
    • Claire Armstrong

      18th November 2017 at 4:41 pm

      Thanks, Julie. Lucky for me there is a park at the end of my road full of trees with pinecones in different shapes and sizes.

      Reply
  7. Mary

    18th November 2017 at 1:49 am

    Claire this is really original. Why had I never thought that the pinecones looked like little trees? You did a great job and I imagine they must look awesome all lit up.

    Reply
    • Claire Armstrong

      18th November 2017 at 8:01 am

      Thank you Mary. They are kind of sweet, a great decoration for the desk

      Reply
  8. Carrie @ Carrie's Home Cooking

    14th November 2017 at 3:58 am

    This is so creative! I love homemade holiday decorations! Thank you so much for sharing on Whisk It Wednesday. I hope to see you there again soon! Have a wonderful week. Carrie @ Carrie’s Home Cooking

    Reply
    • Claire Armstrong

      14th November 2017 at 8:12 am

      Thank you so much for hosting.

      Reply
  9. Caro | The Twinkle Diaries

    13th November 2017 at 3:14 pm

    SUCH a clever idea Claire!! Love them — I reckon my littles would like to make something similar… perhaps not quite as technical — the marbling with nail varnish is a fab trick!! — but they’d love to make some little trees! Thanks so much for sharing!! Cx #HomeEtc

    Reply
    • Claire Armstrong

      13th November 2017 at 3:58 pm

      The kids could decorate them with those bags of tiny pompoms you get in the pound shops and perhaps some glitter on the tips.

      Reply
  10. Amber Harrop

    12th November 2017 at 10:25 pm

    This is amazingly cute Claire I love it

    Reply
    • Claire Armstrong

      13th November 2017 at 7:45 am

      Ahh, thank you Amber ?

      Reply
  11. Anne Marie

    12th November 2017 at 10:00 pm

    This is so cute, I never thought of pine cones in this way but they do look like mini Christmas trees ? #homeetc

    Reply
    • Claire Armstrong

      13th November 2017 at 7:44 am

      Thank you Anne Marie. Not only do they look like mini Christmas trees but they come in all different shapes and sizes. I’ve just spotted some really cute dinky cones in the park that I want to make something with.

      Reply
  12. STEPHANIE ABBOTT

    12th November 2017 at 2:01 pm

    You always make simple things look so beautiful! Love it. Pinned. Thanks for sharing with our link party!

    Reply
    • Claire Armstrong

      12th November 2017 at 3:41 pm

      Thank you so much!

      Reply
  13. Leanna

    12th November 2017 at 6:21 am

    This is really cute. I am fixated on all sorts of uses for those mini lights, love your idea.

    Reply
    • Claire Armstrong

      12th November 2017 at 7:18 am

      Thank you so much.

      Reply
  14. Debrashoppeno5

    11th November 2017 at 11:03 pm

    What an adorable idea. This can be tucked in so many places around the house.

    Reply
    • Claire Armstrong

      12th November 2017 at 7:17 am

      Thank you, yes this one is actually in the kitchen at the moment.

      Reply
  15. Kelly

    10th November 2017 at 6:41 pm

    What a cute and creative idea! And you make it look so simple, too!
    Best,
    Kelly

    Reply
    • Claire Armstrong

      10th November 2017 at 9:04 pm

      Thank you, it is simple Kelly.

      Reply
  16. Toni | Small Home Soul

    10th November 2017 at 6:24 pm

    This is so creative Claire! I love the dipping effect on the tin and adding tiny LED lights to the pinecone is perfect.

    Reply
    • Claire Armstrong

      10th November 2017 at 9:03 pm

      Thank you so much Toni. I’m really into the marbling effect now.

      Reply
  17. Wendy

    10th November 2017 at 1:00 pm

    Claire you are so clever. This is adorable! How do you think of these things?

    Reply
    • Claire Armstrong

      10th November 2017 at 2:20 pm

      Thank you, Wendy. My head is just stuff full of craft which is dying to come out. I don’t have the time unfortunately to make all the things I want to make.

      Reply
  18. Victoria @DazzleWhileFrazzled

    10th November 2017 at 12:36 pm

    Very cute idea! Would look super as place settings or on a mantel. Visiting from Remodelaholic.

    Reply
    • Claire Armstrong

      10th November 2017 at 2:21 pm

      Thank you, Victoria. I think I will be putting a few of these on the mantle.

      Reply
  19. Jennifer Priest

    10th November 2017 at 3:21 am

    So clever! …and cute too!

    Reply
    • Claire Armstrong

      10th November 2017 at 7:27 am

      Thank you Jennifer and thanks for organising the blog hop.

      Reply
  20. Cecilia

    10th November 2017 at 1:36 am

    So cute! Thanks for sharing at Vintage Charm!

    Reply
    • Claire Armstrong

      10th November 2017 at 7:28 am

      Thank you ?

      Reply
  21. Sue D

    10th November 2017 at 12:41 am

    I like these cute pinecone trees and that you added lights.

    Reply
    • Claire Armstrong

      10th November 2017 at 7:28 am

      Thank you, I like my Christmas lights.

      Reply
  22. Allison

    9th November 2017 at 2:42 pm

    This is so cute! I’ve got my mom collecting pine cones for Christmas crafts, I’ll have to ask her to snag a few more for me 🙂

    Reply
    • Claire Armstrong

      9th November 2017 at 11:12 pm

      Thank you, I’m lucky there are loads of pine cones in the park at the end of my road.

      Reply
  23. Kimberley | Oh Just My Little Blog

    9th November 2017 at 1:23 pm

    Eek this is just too cute! We’re in the middle of a huge home renovation at the moment so might not have space for a big tree this year, I might be making lots of these instead! x #HomeEtc

    Reply
    • Claire Armstrong

      9th November 2017 at 11:12 pm

      Thank you so much. They are really easy to make.

      Reply
  24. Sam - Raggedy Bits

    9th November 2017 at 1:12 am

    Super cute project Claire! I can see a few of these in a row as a centrepiece for a table without it being too bulky!! Great idea!

    Reply
    • Claire Armstrong

      9th November 2017 at 6:48 am

      Thanks Sam, I like the centrepiece idea.

      Reply
  25. Lynn Spencer

    9th November 2017 at 12:09 am

    Claire, you always have such fun and cheerful ideas. Thanks for the bit of whimsy.

    Reply
    • Claire Armstrong

      9th November 2017 at 6:47 am

      Thank you, Lynn. I believe crafting should be fun, colourful and make you smile.

      Reply
  26. Julie

    8th November 2017 at 9:06 pm

    I’m living and traveling full-time in my RV and this would be the perfect Christmas tree for us!

    Reply
    • Claire Armstrong

      8th November 2017 at 11:26 pm

      Thank you, yes this is definitely a portable Christmas tree. Living and traveling in the RV sounds interesting.

      Reply
  27. Susanne

    8th November 2017 at 6:56 pm

    HELLO!!! That is the cutest little thing I have ever seen!!! How crafty you are 🙂

    Reply
    • Claire Armstrong

      8th November 2017 at 7:12 pm

      Thank you Susanne ??

      Reply
  28. Dana Tatar

    8th November 2017 at 4:41 pm

    Super cute project! I love how you colored the can. Thanks for sharing!

    Reply
    • Claire Armstrong

      8th November 2017 at 5:01 pm

      Thank you so much!

      Reply
  29. Christene A Holder

    8th November 2017 at 4:37 pm

    This is so cute! I love the marbling effect. These would make great stocking stuffers too!

    >> Christene
    Keys to Inspiration

    Reply
    • Claire Armstrong

      8th November 2017 at 5:01 pm

      Thank you, I’m into marling at the moment.

      Reply

Trackbacks

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