Step #2 | How to Prepare Pine cones for Christmas Crafts

...Amaze Your Friends With Your Very Own Giant Pine cone Christmas Tree...

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Step #2 | How to Prepare Pine cones for Crafts - After a few hours under a dry sunny day, the pine cones will expand naturally for better examination.

Above, Whitney and I placed the pine cones under the sun for more than 7 hours before they finally opened completely to disclose their naked core.

As expected, 15% of them were not in good condition. You see, when they close up, its difficult to tell how muscular they are. Some of the outer petals (Dorso Umbo) could be very soft or missing.

The bad cones have an uneven shape as compared to the handsome ones. But they are very consistent with their shape, so its very easy to spot the odd one out.

The rejected cones still have their good uses. Did you know that pine cones make great tooth brushes for rabbits? They are a natural chew toy that will help keep your pet rabbit physically active and prevent boredom.

As rabbit teeth grow continually, they will instinctively nibble and chew on just about anything. Overgrown teeth can cause dental problems, such as sores in the mouth, which could potentially lead to an abscess, making eating and chewing painful. So don't throw away the bad pine cones.

In the above image you can now see that the pine cones are completely open. Before we start spray painting pine cones we need to remove the seeds in-between the petals.

The pine cones have this petal shaped fin (Dorso Umbo) that protects the leaf like seeds (Articulate) inside.

If you leave them out on a table where its cool and dry, 85% of the winged leaf seeds will eventually loosen and fall out simply by shaking them.

To speed up the process though, I used a wired brush or a slender metal pick to remove them. There is approximately a dozen or more per pine cone.

While removing the seeds it reminded me so much of the early years when my Dad, Grandpa, Uncles and friends would sit beside a small wood stove carving out pieces of pointy sticks called lobster plugs.

All day long they sat and told jokes, stories, complained about the Canadian government and carved out lobster plugs from small blocks of soft pine wood. The left-over pile of pine wood shavings had a fresh suttle aroma and also made good for starting a fire.

The work is long and tedious to remove the seeds, however to my surprise it was rather relaxing to do. The aroma that floats in the air while working is very warm and comforting.

I truly believe that the pine cones scent are a natural aphrodisiac. It really does put people in a romantic mood. So I decided to perserve this naturally scent for you. And the more pine cones you have, the better your mood.

Step #3 - How to preserve a natural aphrodisiac, the pinecone scent.

What is an aphrodisiac? Well, it can be a drug, scent, food, drink, or device that some claim may kindle or increase sexual desire.