What to do with a Pine Cone

It's been a while since I have been able to post anything. Life gets crazy at times, but I try and make time for my crafts. Some family time was needed, and I am ready to show you some more ideas that I have been working on. My hope for the new year is to make at least three to four posts a month. I hope to be able to complete this New Years resolution. Let's start with my latest project. 

What to do with a Pine Cone:

            I have to admit this project hurt way more than I had imagined. My hands took a beating but to wear gloves would not have helped. This is a very precise project that takes steady hands. Last year I started gathering my pine cones over the summer. This gave them just enough time to dry out.  Winter in Minnesota can be a good time to work on projects, as our winters can be long and very cold. I have to admit it was nice to see pine cones again. Before we get started here is a little disclaimer: This project is time consuming and hurts, but I also have to say it's very rewarding and I love the results.
First you will want to start at the bottom of the pine cone and start to pull it apart. Each petal will come off individually if it's dry enough. Here is was my bucket looked like

I just used my finger but you could use a pliers, I would just worry that it would break the petals.

Making the Flower

Once you have a nice size pile of petals you can start gluing the pieces together just like a flower. Here is a picture of a few I put together. I layered them to make them a little larger and to add character.

 

 Here is a little secret, if you can find a pine cone with the bottom still intact like this

Start at the outer most petals and start pulling them off, eventually the bottom piece will come off and you can use it as the center of a flower. I will come off as a whole piece. Here are two examples:

Here is a completed flower:

 Project time:

 Once you make a few different types of flowers, now it's time to start playing around with ideas. I like wall decor and thought this would be a good way to use these flowers. I used a small canvas. First I tried a simple set up. I used jute string as the stem and left over petals for the leafs.

my next idea was to use a little paint to put some color into my idea:

Then I got a few more ideas. In the first photo I added moss and sticks. In the second picture I tried adding petals to look like they were falling
                                    

Please tell me what you think next door, and post your pictures after trying this project. Again thank you for taking the time to follow my blog.