Pine Cone Art- Simple Painting Craft For Kids

This pine cone art is an incredibly simple craft and such a fun activity for toddlers and preschoolers! However, I’ll be honest, this craft is really fun for kids of all ages (even adults :)). 

If you are a fan of easy craft projects, this activity is so much fun and takes almost no prep. It is a great way to get outside to enjoy the great outdoors and create something beautiful out of nature.

The pine cone becomes your paint brush in this activity and there is no right or wrong way to make your pine cone art. I love the creative freedom that this craft gives kids!

Materials

• Pinecones
• Acrylic paint
• White paper

How To Make Pine Cone Art

First you need to take your little one on a nature walk to find pine trees and the perfect pine cones for their craft. We found that larger pine cones were easier for my 3 year old to manipulate when painting. I recommend getting a bunch of pine cones so that you have lots to choose from when painting since you have to use one per color.

Allow your child to pick their paint colors and put it on a paper plate. I strongly recommend doing one color per plate. This decreases frustration with mixing of colors and allows your little one to roll the pinecone in the paint fully. You could also use a baking sheet for this.

Create your pine cone painting masterpiece. Challenge your child to think of lots of ways to paint with the pinecone (rolling, stamping, dragging, even breaking off pieces of the pinecone to become a brush, etc). 

What is Process Art

Essentially process art means there is no right or wrong way to do this, which I LOVE when it comes to crafts for kids. There are no step-by-step instructions. No template to try to copy. Just freedom to create their own unique artwork. It is one of my favorite ways to have my kids create!

Encourage your child to get creative and have fun with this pinecone painting. Sometimes kids have a hard time creating without a template or something to look at to try to copy.

I found it helpful to sit at the table with my son and create my own masterpiece next to him so that he felt empowered to get creative and make his painting alongside me. We had vibrant colors to choose from and I let him lead the activity and I just followed along and encouraged him. We had the best time together during this craft. 

Different Ways To Make Your Pinecone Art

If you want you can provide different materials for your child to play with while painting. They can use these items in addition to their pinecone to create a unique art project. They could just strictly paint with these items or attach them to the pine cone art with a hot glue gun. 

Other Nature Crafts For Kids

This adorable sun suncatcher is such a fun craft to brighten your windows.

I love these colored ice sculptures. They make for a perfect winter craft and are so fun for kids of all ages!

This pinecone garland craft is simple and makes an adorable decoration.

I saw these pine cone flowers by Born To Be Adventurous and I couldn’t get over what a great idea it was- it is on my to do list this summer with my kids!