DIY Rustic Sugar Pine Cone Christmas Trees

November 14, 2022

Today I'm sharing how to make rustic sugar pine cone Christmas trees. 

rustic sugar pine cone Christmas tree decorated with gold bells

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Have you ever heard of sugar pine cones? Don't feel bad if you haven't -- it was only last year that I learned about them myself. They come from the tallest and most massive pine trees on the planet, sometimes called the great sugar pine, that are native to the U.S. Pacific Coast.


regular pine cone and sugar pine cone side by side comparison

Here's a size comparison just to give you an idea. Aren't they beautiful? Mine average 10" tall. With pine cones THAT tall you HAVE to do something awesome with them! So I did. I turned them into Christmas trees! 

Christmas themed farmhouse shelves sugar pine cone Christmas trees

My five decorated sugar pine cones have been turned into rustic mini Christmas trees, lining the DIY farmhouse shelves in the dining room!  

sugar pine cone red gold bells vintage lighted bottle brush tree pine cone


sugar pine cone Christmas tree in terra cotta pot with hanging gold bells


vintage red Maxwell House Western Blend Coffee tin sugar pine cone Christmas tree with red ball garland


plaid stuffed Christmas tree sugar pone cone red star garland terra cotta pot


red glitter snowflake tree topper glitter sugar pone cone vintage red tobacco tin

There are SO many ways you can "decorate" your sugar pine cones. Here's a sample of some of the mini decorations I used:

supplies to decorate sugar pine cone Christmas trees

Each "tree" is topped off with some form of star, and none of the decorations are complicated or expensive. 

terra cotta pot vintage red Maxwell House Western Blend coffee tin

It's also fun to display your sugar pine cone trees in various rustic and vintage containers. I'm a huge lover of terra cotta pots and vintage tin cans. They came in very handy as vessels for my sugar pine cone Christmas trees. (I'll be sharing my vintage red cans in a future Thrill of the Hunt post.) 

NOTE: I used newspaper in the Maxwell House coffee tin to prop up the sugar pine cone tree. You could also use some type of moss or other balled up paper to fill up the can.

Don't feel constrained to using just these type of containers. Again, use your imagination! Perhaps you could use vintage ironstone pitchers, vintage silver bowls and trophies, wicker containers, old wooden boxes  -- the possibilities are endless.

I picked up my decorations at Dollar Tree (not including the sugar pine cones which I got at Michael's on sale, as well as from Goodwill). I'll supply links for your convenience in the event you can't find them at yours:

mini bell garland

mini red and green Christmas ornaments 

mini pom pom ball trim

mini star garland

mini wooden snowflake/stars 

mini Christmas cow bells

Then of course there are the actual sugar pine cones themselves. If you're not careful, you might end up paying a premium for them, especially around Christmas time. I got most of mine last year on sale at Michaels. But THIS YEAR YOU CAN GET THEM AT DOLLAR TREE!

I was totally shocked to  find a box filled with them at my local Dollar Tree! Since I already had a bunch of them at home I only picked up one -- this one that came already covered with red and green glitter! Talk about retro -- I love it! (Confession: wish I had bought more!) 

I just added the Christmas balls and the snowflake/star. Either way, you can always spray your pine cone with spray adhesive and then cover it with your own sparkly Christmas glitter.  


faux frosted mini spruce in red Ritz cracker tin vintage sugar mold LED votives

This vintage Ritz 25th Anniversary cracker tin came in quite handy as a base for one of my faux frosted mini Christmas trees, and goes well with my other vintage red tins.

plaid flannel reindeer wood stick legs and scarf

 I added some of my rustic plaid flannel elements to the mix, like this adorable reindeer.


And this rustic plaid flannel Christmas tree. The mini Christmas signs came from Dollar Tree.

white three tier tray with Christmas tier tray decor

This three tier tray styled for Christmas sits at the end of the sideboard.Christmas shelves decor pine cones Christmas trees


I was absolutely thrilled with how they turned out! And since nothing is permanent I can "un-decorate" them and start all over again next Christmas!   

You can also use them, unadorned, as rustic bowl fillers throughout the winter season. How would you use them in your decor?   

Well, that's it for today, friends.

 I hope you've enjoyed reading about 

DIY Rustic Sugar Pine Cone Christmas Trees

and that I've inspired you in some way. 

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rustic sugar pine cone Christmas tree decorated with gold bells

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Leave a Comment!

My thrift store addiction said...

These are so pretty, Kathleen!

Junkchiccottage said...

Hi Kathleen,
I just saw these at our Jewel grocery store and they were so cool and of course smelled great. Love what you did with them. Very cute. Have a great day. xoxo Kris

Colo Junkett said...

Hi. Awesome idea I like the sugar pine cones but are hard for me to find. I do have ponderosa pine cones

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