Bleached Pinecone and Cranberry Garland

This DIY bleached pinecone and cranberry garland adds a beautiful rustic touch to any of your Christmas decor.

Hello, it’s Susan from Love of Home. I have a pretty DIY Christmas project to share with you today. It’s a bleached pinecone and cranberry garland! We have lots of pinecones in my neck of the woods so I am able to go out and pick a bag or two just about any time of the year. If you don’t have pinecones readily available you can buy them at the craft store.

Pinecone and Cranberry Rustic Garland

This beautiful pinecone and cranberry garland is easy to put together and makes the perfect rustic addition to any of your Christmas or winter decor. I think it would be a fun little project to do while you’re watching a Christmas movie! NOTE: This post does contain some affiliate links. This simply means that I may receive a small commission {at no charge to you} if you shop directly through any of the links provided.

Materials

• Bleach
• Pinecones
• Jute or thick string
• A bag of cranberries {I used real ones but you could also use faux cranberries if you wanted to re-use this for years to come}
• Large eye needle. You can find them by knitting supplies if you don’t have one.
• Felt cut into tiny circles to fit on the bottom of your pinecones.
• Hot glue

How to Bleach Pinecones

To bleach the pinecones, put them into a bucket or container and add two parts bleach to one part water and submerge the pinecones. Leave for about 1 1/2 – 2 days. Remove from mixture and let dry. They will open again as they dry. Mine looked pretty bad after the bleaching and I wasn’t sure it worked, but they turned out beautiful.

How to Make a Pinecone and Cranberry Garland

• Decide about how long you want the garland and cut the jute with approximately an extra 18″.
• Start by stringing the cranberries one by one.  Thread onto the string with your needle. At the ends, I used 10 cranberries, then a pinecone, then 5 cranberries, repeat to the end, end with 10 cranberries.
• The pinecones were kept on the string by gluing the string down with the felt circles {see photo below}. The design is completely up to you! The end of the jute nearest the needle took on the red of the cranberry so I left myself enough room to cut that off when I was done.

Where can I hang a garland?

This garland was hung on our mantle, but you could use the garland almost anywhere in your Christmas decor. Place it  around a door frame, on a tree or make tiny ones for gifts. It also looks great draped over a Christmas vignette or hot chocolate bar.

Do I have to bleach the pinecones?

I love the look of the bleached pinecones. It gives them a more rustic, lighter look than the natural color ones. If you’d like to save time or just prefer the look of darker pinecones, regular pinecones work just as well!

How long will a fresh pinecone and cranberry garland last?

Since the cranberries are fresh, this garland will last about 7-10 days depending on where you want to hang it. If you would like it to last longer or would like to use it for future years, you can always use faux cranberries. You can find these on Amazon or other craft stores. I think this would work for general winter decor or a sweet Valentine’s Day decoration too!

More Christmas Decor Ideas…

For more Christmas decor ideas, here are some other Love of Home posts that you might like, The Best Holiday Decor Tip and 3 Easy PinePinecone Projects. You can also find more ideas here….

Christmas Kitchen Decor Ideas

Christmas Mantel Decor

DIY Christmas Poinsettia Centerpiece