The Tetons are a favorite vacation destination for our family!  There’s a lot of good hiking and kayaking, the views are breathtaking, Yellowstone NP is close by,  plenty of wildlife, and the weather usually cooperates.  Those are just a few of the things that appeal to us and take us back there time and again.

My camera got a work out!  Still haven’t gone through all the photos, but did pick out a few to share!

I’ve decided to make little mementos from our grand getaway!  While hiking I gathered some small pinecones and will be using them as part of my project.  A couple of Christmases ago I did this same craft as ornaments and was inspired by this Martha Stewart link.

The pinecones and our nature-filled vacation will be the perfect match! Get creative with your pinecone frame!  There are lots of ways to create unique designs to frame your vacation memories!

Pinecone Frame and Easel

Materials:  pinecones, photo, thin cardboard, hot glue gun and glue sticks, sticks from your yard, hemp, jute, raffia, or something similar, and narrow ribbon for hanging frame.

Frame:
1.  The first step is the hardest for me…choosing a photo!  I love so many pictures and for different reasons!  Print photo…mine is wallet-size.  Cut out print leaving a little bit of a white border so that too much of the photos isn’t covered up by pinecone pieces.  Heat glue gun.

2.  Pinecones need to be separated piece by piece.  Start at the wide end of the pinecone and begin popping off each seed scale.  So the  pieces lay flat when glued, trim the ends that had been attached to the cone with scissors.  Collect your pieces in small dish.

3.  Trace the trimmed photo onto a piece of thin cardboard; cut out.  Glue photo onto cardboard with a small dot of hot glue on each corner.
Flip over backed photo and write date, location, etc.

4.  Glue a pinecone seed in each corner at an angle as pictured.  Now begin gluing more seed pieces working from the corner pieces toward the center, overlapping each piece until they nearly meet in the center.  Repeat on the remaining 3 sides in the same way.

5.  At the center top I created a little”flower” design with very small seed pieces that I placed in hot glue in the center spot.  On the 2 sides and bottom I glued a single seed pointing outward – see photo.

6.  Cut an 8″ piece of narrow ribbon or jute; glue at an angle on top 2 corners with ends extending out from sides for a hanging frame.  These make really sweet Christmas ornaments!

Easel:
I made an easel with sticks from my yard!  It’s just right for a framed wallet-size photo.

1.  Cut two sticks 5 1/4″ long and one stick 5″ long (this shorter stick will be the “leg” the easel leans back on).  Stand stick up, holding together at their tops, spreading them out to form a tripod, and hot glue where the 3 sticks meet.  (I squeezed it in cracks and anywhere it seemed would stabilize the stand.)  Wrap the top of the easel where the 3 legs meet with hemp or jute, etc. several times; knot off and trim ends.

2.  Cut another stick 4 1/4″ in length.  Using your framed photo as a guide decide where you want to glue this stick across the front legs of easel; glue in place. Repeat the wrapping process on both ends of support stick and front legs; knot and trim.  Place framed photo on easel and reminisce!!