We made pinecone zinnias

Zinnias are one of my favorite flowers. They are in abundance this time of year. We live in a place where we are practically knee-deep in pinecones. Squirrels in conifers literally hurl them at our heads because they have so many.

But what do pinecones and zinnias have to do with each other?

At the beginning of summer break, I found a cool, easy art project that uses pinecones in a novel, zinnia-saluting way. I knew Beatrix would love painting pinecones to look like zinnias, especially if we made a little adventure out of the process.

All summer, we collected pinecones from the places we visited. Usually, we only took one or two. We made sure they were intact, nicely shaped, and the bottoms were smooth and symmetrical. When fall arrived, it was time to squirt crafting paint into pots and get to work.

As predicted, painting the pinecones was easy and a lot of fun. At first, we painted them in solid colors. Then, we got a little wild and made them more multicolored. Things got really out of hand when she painted gold glitter onto some. Real zinnias don’t have glitter, but that’s okay. I love the way they turned out.

The best part is looking at them and thinking of the places we found them, together. It was a great, meaningful project to do with Beatrix. They are arranged artfully in bowls as lovely reminders of our little adventures.

TO MAKE YOUR OWN PINECONE ZINNIAS:

~ Gather pinecones in different sizes

~ Paint them with acrylic craft paint

~ Marvel at how they were too easy to make

~ Wonder what you did wrong

~ You did nothing wrong! Enjoy!