When I was younger, it felt like the holidays would  wait until at least after Thanksgiving to waltz into the world and steal the show.  I don’t know if it’s the awareness I’ve accumulated as an adult, or a fact of our modern reality but the older I get – the earlier and earlier the seem to sneak up into the everyday life.  Little by little,  Mariah Carey and The Ratpack have planted yuletide ear bugs, sweetly serenading me while Christmas commercials run rampant over the airwaves and my visual spectrum becomes inundated with red, white, green and glitter everything.  The holiday season provides a wonderful excuse to spruce up the place and though I’d love to ball out and adorn the apartment with brand spankin’ new holiday decorations, I have to admit that there’s something so gratifying and satisfying about making decorations all on your own.  Last year, I perfected making homemade candles so this time I thought I’d try my luck at something a bit more naturally beautiful.

Just the other day, when I dropped by my favorite local clothing shop – Native Boutique, I caught myself ogling their adorable holiday dresses, toying with the strings longingly as I lazed through the store.   Not only do they have a killer $20 rack outside, but they’ve got a welcoming staff and a stellar selection of clothing for the female young professionals that know how to both work and play hard.  While making my way through the aisles, I noticed they had some beautifully simple decorations lying around on cabinets, tables and cupboards – glittery, shimmery pinecones!

With the amount of camping and festivals that Danny and I have been to over the last three years, we’ve actually amassed quite a number of pine cones that are scattered throughout our place – the coffee table, the alter, and in even in a batch of potpourri that I made out of a bouquet of roses. I’d seen a few posts that detailed painting the cones like flowers, but that seemed a bit much for me – glitter, however, that I can do! It’s the perfect combination of natural and whimsical, while providing the perfect accent to any coffee table, window sill – or even in a bowl of pretty and pungent potpourri.

Supplies:

• Elmer’s  Craft Bond Spray Adhesive
  
• Assorted pine cones in various shapes and sizes, dried flowers
• Glitter – my personal favorites are Glow In The Dark Glitter from and  Spectra Glitter
• Cardboard and Newspaper to cover whatever surface you’re using
• Optional:
  • Rubber Gloves
  • Mixing Cups
  • Paintbrush
  • Hair Dryer

Instructions:

The great thing about the sparkly, seasonal pine cones is that they’re as easy to make as they sound and the result is beautiful any way you spin it!

• Start by laying down a protective layer of cardboard or newspaper over the area you’ll be crafting over – that way you’ll keep all the MOOP (Matter-Out-Of-Place) in one area.
• Gather your pine cones and flowers in a central area for efficient work space
• In a small mixing cup, add any and all of the different glitters that you’re putting on the first pine cone

• If you’d like to spare yourself glitter-fingers, toss on a pair of plastic gloves.
• Shake the can of spray glue and remove the plastic top, spray can on a third of the pine cone and loosely sprinkle enough glitter to cover the glue.  Repeat on the rest of the pine cone.
• Set pine cone in a safe place to set and repeat steps on other pine cones; allow cones to set over night
• The next morning, take a blow dryer on the lowest setting and dust off any excess glitter.

Voila! Easy, breezy, beautiful home accents that can liven up any room 🙂