3 ounces of cinnamon oil,
1/2 pound cinnamon chips,
1/2 pound of whole 3" cinnamon sticks,
and one large heavy duty plastic garbage bag.
Using cinnamon oil (available at most craft or floral shops and department stores), brush each
cone. Put cinnamon chips, sticks, and pine cones in the garbage bag. If you have leftover oil
(this will depend on how heavily you brushed it on cones) sprinkle some on top of bag mixture.
Seal bag tightly and leave mixture in bag for 8 weeks. Shake and toss the bag once a week to
blend the mixture. Using the same method for scenting, here is another mixture recipe to put in
the plastic bag.
For one pound of pine cones you'll need:
4 oz. dried orange peels
3 oz. chunks of orrisroot
2 oz. 3" cinnamon sticks
1 oz. eucalyptus Oil
mix:
1 oz. cinnamon oil,
1 oz. allspice oil,
1 oz. orange oil,
1/2 oz. clove oil,
1/2 oz. nutmeg oil.
Brush pine cones with the oil mix, then place in bag with other ingredients.
Tie tightly and let sit for one month, shaking and mixing once a week.
Once you have your pine cones scented the next step is finding a way to display or package them.
If your intent is to sell the pine cones you'll want to make them look as festive as possible.
Purchase some netting fabric and colorful ribbon to match.
Cut a large square of the fabric, place a number of pine cones in the center and gather fabric up
around the cones. To secure it, tie gathered end with a ribbon and make a bow. If you plan to give the
pine cones as gifts, adding extra touches makes it extra special. You can attach cinnamon sticks and
small berry floral picks to the bow. If you want to display your pine cones in your home, put them a
glass jar with an airtight lid. Again, you can decorate this jar with ribbon or dried flowers. When
you want to enjoy the scent of your pine cones, simply remove the lid. To keep the scent longer, be
sure to reseal the jar when not in use. If you live near or have access to large pine cones
(5" tall or more) you can scent them and decorate them individually. I have found that the
favorite scent for these, also, is apple cinnamon. Make the bottom of the cone level for setting.
Take slices of dried apples and glue them between the cone petals. Scent the dried apple slices
and the cone with scattered drops of cinnamon oil. You can further decorate this "pine cone tree"
as desired. It looks especially nice with small, dried flowers and tiny ribbon bows glued on.
Scented pine cones are not only easy to make, they are also a fun way to experiment with different scents.
