Opening Pine Cones

I know what you are thinking! What are you doing with a bag of closed pine cones? Well the weather has been so cold and wet the pine cones haven't been drying out and opening up. Everyone knows you have to make a pine cone turkeys at thanksgiving time. Plus they are great for center pieces and you can decorate your Christmas tree with them too. So here is what I do to get them dried out and opened quicker without having to wait  several weeks for them to do it naturally. This trick will help you get crafting a lot sooner, and it will make your house smell divine.

What you are going to need: Cookie Tray, Tin Foil, Gloves, and Pine Cones. 

Set your oven to about 200 degrees. Cover a cookie tray with tin foil. When handling the pine cones you should wear gloves. The sap is pretty sticky and can get all over your hands. I didn't wear gloves and had to scrub my fingers with alcohol to get the sap off. I washed off my pine cones in the sink, just to get off any dirt that might be on the outside. I then placed a few pine cones on the covered cookie sheet. When placing on the sheet put them wide enough apart so they can open up. Check on them and rotate them every 30 - 60min, till you reach desired look.

Enjoy!