Even though we're right in the midst of the "dog days of summer", my mind is always thinking ahead towards Fall and Winter crafts! This past week my husband and I went on vacation to South Dakota! The Black Hills are beautiful and I found lots of pine cones. Well, my hubby got them for me.. I was just in flip flops *giggle*
Anyway, we brought the cones home but I knew I needed to clean them. I didn't want any stray bugs in my house *eek* So, I took them to my back porch and grabbed a few things.
I put about a cup of white vinegar and about 1-2 teaspoons of dish soap in a bucket then filled it up with water. I put all the pinecones in and had to keep stirring to submerge them all. I set a timer for 30 minutes and let them soak. I did stir them occasionally.
After they soaked, I let them air-dry a bit just on the sidewalk. I then took them inside and placed them on a parchment paper-lined cookie sheet. I put them in the oven at 200 degrees for 30 minutes. I checked them a couple times. I hadn't ever done this before and didn't want to start a fire!
Now, once they're really wet, they close up all the way. They're not as pretty this way and I really hoped that I didn't ruin them.
After baking for 30 minutes, I decided to keep them in the oven for another 30 minutes. After that, I took them out and just let them sit on the pan for a while. They hadn't started to open up yet and I was a little worried. They weren't completely dry yet either.
So, I let them sit there for a few hours and I could then see they were starting to open up. Phew! I tried to set them up on the bottoms as best I could. They weren't opening up as well on the side they were laying on. If the bottom wasn't flat enough, I leaned it up against the sides of the pan.
After a few more hours (and especially in to the next day) they were completely dry and had opened up. They're so cute and now they're ready for my Fall/Winter crafting. I've got a few things in mind for them. It'll be fun. I only wish we would've grabbed more!!
