DIY Cinnamon Scented Pine Cones

Every year I buy a large bag of the cinnamon scented pine cones. I absolutely love the look and scent. It means the arrival of fall and holiday season to me. This year I decided to try make my own!

While camping in the Oakanogan area Labor Day weekend, there were pine cones everywhere. And they were the big beautiful good ones - just like the ones you buy! So my husband and I scoured the area and selected only the best to bring home lol

There are many different methods you can use for this project. The method I decided to use takes a few weeks before they'll be ready to set out, but I think it'll have the best scent impact and longevity. I did do two different batches though, just to see if spraying the essential oil mixture before baking made any difference. We shall see.

The first thing you need to do is bake the cones on a foil lined baking sheet for one hour at 200 degrees to bake off any sap and kill any bugs that may be lerking inside.

Once done baking. Take out and let cool. In a squirt bottle (I used an empty Febreze bottle that I cleaned out thoroughly) mix some cinnamon essential oil with water and spray the pine cones liberally. Put cones into a zip top type bag and spray once more. Shake bag to move the oils around.

My cinnamon essential oil/water mix in an old Febreze spray bottle.

The cones inside the zip top bag. You can see the moisture on the bag from the oil/water mixture. The cones soaked it right up.

Now this is where the waiting begins. The cones will need to sit in the bag to let them absorb the oil and soak up the scent. The longer you let them sit, the stronger the scent will be. You will need to shake the bag once a week to move the oils around. I will be spraying more essential oil into the bag every week because I want a super strong scent that lasts the whole season.

I was able to make 6 full gallon sized zip top bags and I think I'll wait until at least the middle of October before I set any out. The rest I'll leave to take out later in the year. The good thing about this is, once these lose their scent, I can put them back in a zip top bag and start the process all over again! Then, at the end of the season, I'll put them back in their bags and soak them with the oil/water mixture and put away till next year! Just think how yummy they'll smell by then!!