When I first became interested in upcycling nature there was no such term as “upcycle.” At least not in my vocabulary. I have always loved finding shells or rocks or sticks and repurposing them, but taking a closer look into the different options of upcying I came to a realization: there is no way I can properly cover this topic in one post. Or in 100. The options are endless.

As this was more than a little overwhelming I decided to start with something I look at every day over my balcony: pine cones. Easy.

However, a quick peruse through an old Martha Stewart craft book made me see even pine cones have endless options for upcycling and crafting.

So where to begin? Did I want to make picture frames? Or little decorative animals? Or fire starters? Or how about hanging ornaments? Or birdfeeders? Oh my!

In the end I decided to start small, and build from there. Pine cone decor.

Going out to the tree I look at every day I collected a few pine cones and decided to spray paint a few gold and a few grey. Then I placed the pine cones in different bowls and vases I had on hand until I found a combination I liked.

With the leftover pine cones I decided to work a bit on a centrepiece.

Taking an old gold-flecked scarf I wrapped it around three small pine cones and affixed them with ribbon. Then I spread some spray painted pine cones and mixed in some wine corks and twig balls (although I’ll admit the twig balls were from the dollar store—not nature. I’m working up to it!).

Already my living room feels more decorative and I can be proud of not spending any extra money on this starter project as I had all the materials already on hand.

Perhaps I’m ready now for pine cone picture frames. They looked amazing!