Pinecone projects

On our walks we invariably will collect all manner of objects - dried leaves, special sticks, rocks, acorns, and pinecones.  We have baskets full of pinecones - so we've been crafting with them.  We made a good selection of pinecone firestarters as holiday gifts by dipping the pinecones into melted beeswax.  They can be used to help get a fire started in a woodstove or fireplace and work extremely well.  Simple, yet effective!  Then there are the pinecone bird feeders. 

How to make Pinecone Bird Feeders
Gather half a dozen or more full size pinecones.  Fill the crevices of pinecones with peanut butter (use a butter knife or chopsticks), then roll them in millet (or other bird friendly seeds).  Let dry on waxed paper, and then hang outdoors on a long string in a place where birds can access them, but out of reach of squirrels!   We first tied them to our pea trellis, but this was a bad idea!  Hung from the branches of a young pear tree the squirrels could also reach.  So, finally we hung them off our long clothes line where there are no overhanging tree branches.  Success!

Both these pinecone projects were fun and easy for young kids to accomplish with only a little help from an adult.