Pine or spruce cones have long become very common materials for New Year's crafts. Such a gift from the forest will certainly create a festive mood in the house and will become an excellent decoration of the interior. Cones are durable, and therefore, any crafts will remain in the apartment for several years and will look as if it had just been brought. Before understanding what to paint cones for crafts, you need to pay some attention to the next part of the article.
How to choose a material for painting
It turns out that everything is not so simple, and you need to choose the cones wisely. After all, they will soon become a decoration at home. It is best to stop your choice on open cones, which will look more interesting, but if they were not found in the forest, you can dial closed copies. After drying in an oven over low heat, natural materials will begin to unfold. The process itself does not take much time.
Preparatory stage
Immediately before work, thinking about how to paint the cones for the New Year, you need to take some time to prepare the selected copies. Some of them may be contaminated, which must be removed. For this, each cone is carefully viewed, and if necessary, washed and dried. The drying procedure is best carried out in a room with good ventilation, but it is not recommended to use heating devices for drying.
In the absence of strong contamination, all cones are thoroughly cleaned with hard brushes to remove particles of earth or other debris.
If the materials for crafts were collected wet, then they must be dried. An oven is suitable for this purpose. Such a measure is necessary so that the future decor element can please its owner for a long time.
It is important to know that cones contain large amounts of resin. You need to get rid of it by applying the technology of digestion. The collected materials are washed under running hot water (2-3 times). Then they need to be put in a pan, pour water and add a small amount of washing liquid. The digestion process lasts 3 hours, and the water itself is changed several times.
After the lapse of time, the cones are removed from the pan, put on a towel and wait for the water to drain. Then they need to be dried. To do this, future crafts are placed in a warm place for several days. During this time, just figure out how to paint the cones for crafts.
Another subtlety is the disclosure of cones. As mentioned above, you can use the oven. But if time permits, then natural materials are simply placed in a warm room and wait until they begin to unfold. If you need to leave the disclosure at some specific stage, it is recommended to use carpentry glue. Cones are dipped into it using clamps, and then transferred to polyethylene for drying. The sticky mass will not allow the flakes to unfold further.
What paint to paint cones
So, there are cones at hand, it remains to determine what to paint, because there are a lot of paint materials. First of all, it is worth starting from the ease of use. Alkyd enamel is sold in large jars with a wide neck, where you can completely and completely immerse the cone. This approach will significantly speed up the painting process.
Some people prefer acrylics or gouache. There will be more work here, because you will have to spend some time painting each bump with a brush. The work itself is simple, just more laborious. But you do not need to think about how to paint the cones for the New Year.
You can use spray paint from spray cans. This choice has its advantages: a large number of colors, there is paint with sparkles (which will make the bump even more original), and, again, fast processing of natural materials.
What you need for work
Before creating a New Year's masterpiece and thinking how to paint the cones white, you must have the following materials at hand:
- the right amount of pine cones;
- white paint (it is recommended to opt for alkyd enamel, which dries quickly);
- a piece of steel wire;
- several newspapers.
Step-by-step instruction
A wire will be needed to facilitate the painting process. From one end, the steel bends in the form of a hook so that it can be easily fixed on it. The same hook is done on the opposite side, so that in the future it would be possible to hang the craft for drying.
It is necessary to choose a place in the room, where in the future to place the cones for drying. Here, the newspaper spreads in several layers on the floor so that liquid paint does not get on the parquet or carpet.
Before starting work, the can containing the paint is shaken. Then they fix the bump to one of the hooks and immerse it in a jar. When removing the cone, it must be held above the jar to allow excess coloring material to drain.
Cones are hung in a selected place for drying. After the crafts dry out, you can carefully remove them from the hooks. For convenience, you can install two chairs, put any suitable stick on the backs (even an ordinary mop is suitable) and hang cones on the stick. So, the answer to the question of how to paint the cones white is received.
What color can I paint the cones with?
To make the cones look more original and festive, you can choose any color you like, everything remains at the discretion of the person who does the work. For work, you need the following things:
- a thick piece of foam;
- paint (gouache);
- acrylic lacquer;
- polyethylene film;
- a pair of gloves;
- the right amount of cones.
Painting is carried out as follows. You need to take golden gouache and mix with acrylic varnish, after which the resulting liquid is evenly distributed over the foam. The thickness of the layer determines how well each flake will stain. That is why it is recommended to take a thick piece of foam.
At the workplace, you need to spread the plastic film so as not to stain the surface with paint, place foam on top, put a lump on it and slowly turn it clockwise. Before performing the steps already described, it is recommended to protect your hands with gloves. It is especially worth noting that paint is consumed in small quantities.
During operation, the foam periodically needs to be turned upside down, as paint material will drain to the bottom. After reading this part of the article, questions about how to paint the bumps in gold should not remain.
Little tricks
Some people bleach them before painting New Year’s cones so that the paint goes better. To make such an operation is quite simple, you need to have:
- a large amount of bleach containing bleach;
- bucket;
- a plate;
- a pair of gloves;
- a few cones;
- cargo.
In the selected bucket, put the cones and pour bleach so that it completely covers the natural materials. On top you need to put a plate that will not allow the cones to float to the surface. The load is necessary to hold the plate, you can use a brick or some other heavy object.
The whitening process itself takes 24 hours. After this time, the cones must be washed in plenty of water and dried. After all these actions, they will have to open up and become light in color. Once everything is dry, you can paint the cones for the new year.
How to give bumps an unusual look
To make the cones more decorative, you can use the sparkles that are applied to the edges of the scales. If acrylic paints were chosen for the crafts, then it is recommended to use a varnish suitable for wood at the final stage of work. This will give the craft a glossy, sparkling look.
In the event that you need to cover the cone with several layers of paint, you should remember that it takes time to completely dry each layer. Before you take on another paint and continue working, you must make sure that the first coat is completely dry. Otherwise, work already completed may be damaged.
Precautionary measures
The article listed many options for painting cones to make them beautiful and unusual. In conclusion, we need to talk about security measures, because the improper use of paints and varnishes can lead to serious troubles. This is especially true of works in which children participate.
If you decide to use aerosol paints, then you need to remember that they contain volatile substances harmful to the respiratory system, and the paint itself is explosive and easily flammable.
During operation, it is recommended to use special glasses for eye protection and respirators. Gloves should be put on your hands to protect your skin. If the work is done indoors, then it must be aired. Using aerosol paints is recommended for adults, and for very young children it is better to take less dangerous preparation for the holiday. The same applies to coating cones with varnishes that have a pungent odor.
All work with substances that could be harmful to human health must be carried out in accordance with all safety precautions. If weather permits, it is best to use aerosol paints, varnishes and other substances with a specific aroma in a well-ventilated room, or in general on the street.
We hope that after reading this article, you will no longer have to rack your brains over how to paint cones for crafts.