I have a weird thing for homemade refrigerator magnets. There’s just something about making a tiny little piece of art, then slapping a magnet on the back and using it to hang coupons on my fridge.
There’s been a ton of pine cone flowers on social media sites as of late, so I decided to put my own twist on them – by slapping a magnet on the back and hanging them on my fridge.
Pine Cone Flower Refrigerator Magnets
What you’ll need:
- Small pine cones (the ones in the pic were painted for a previous project – I’m repurposing them) 🙂
- Magnets (I used 1/2 inch rounds) Make sure to get magnets that say “industrial” or “strong” on the label. All magnets are not created equal, and getting ones that are the same size does not guarantee they will be the same strength.
- Paint (I used chalk and acrylic paints, but any paint will do) Colors shown are Americana Decor Chalky Finish Paint in Remembrance where to buy
and Vintage where to buy
and ForkArt Chalk Paint in White Adirondack where to buy
- Paint brushes
- Glue (I have Elmer’s glue in the which will work, but I ended up using hot glue instead)
- Wire cutters
- Needle nose pliers
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Pinch a few rows of scales at the top of the pinecone as shown below. Holding the pinecone loosely so you don’t break the lower scales off, cut the upper scales off with wire cutters. Pull any excess material off with needle nose pliers.
Now that you have the top half of the pine cone cut off, there are two different kinds of flowers you can make with the result. If you want a daisy, put the pine cone right side up; if you want a zinnia, put the pine cone wrong side up.
Paint the pine cones!
Let the paint dry, then glue the magnets on the back.
Let the glue dry, then slap those cute little suckers on your fridge and enjoy!
I hope you enjoyed this tutorial and that your fridge will be covered with pine cone flowers someday very soon! 🙂
Those are pretty! I never looked at pine cones as flowers, great idea!
Thank you Annie! 🙂 The idea of pine cone flowers has been done before – I wish I could take credit for it but I can’t! 🙂 However, I’m the first person that I know of to make them into refrigerator magnets.
I love them and might even give them a try. Thank you for sharing your ingenuity. So many of us appreciate your beautiful masterpieces.
Awe, thank you Penny! You just made my day! 🙂
These are just adorable! I love all the colors you chose! Pinned. Have a great weekend!
Blessings,
Nici
Thank you Nici! 🙂 You have a great weekend too!
These flowers are just wonderful!
Great idea, and thanks for sharing!
You’re welcome, and thank you! 🙂
They also make a beautiful wreath
Yes they do! 🙂 Thanks Lorraine!
Such a cute idea! These would make great gifts! Thank you for sharing!
You’re welcome Karen! I’m glad you like them! 🙂
I’ve never seen pine cones look so good before. I’ve seen all the cheesy Christmas ones again and again but these are awesome!
Thank you Stella! 🙂
What a creative idea, love these!
Thank you! 🙂
So pretty! What a fun and unique idea.
Thank you for sharing this week at Brag About It link party on VMG206 (Mondays at Midnight). I plan to feature you next week!
~ Megin of VMG206
Thank you Megin! 🙂 I’m flattered you chose this as one of your features next week! I’ll make sure to drop by to see it!
Michelle, I LOVE these!!! So very creative! Thank you for sharing them with us at Brag About It!
You’re so welcome Laurie; I’m glad you like them! 🙂
These are just the cutest little things I’ve seen this week….. Now I have to have the kids make some for my moms cabin they’ll fit right in… TFS!
Thank you Brenda! And I didn’t think about them as a kid’s project- how perfect! 🙂
Oh my goodness, this is too cute!
Thanks for joining Cooking and Crafting with J & J!
Thank you Jess! 🙂 And as always, thank you for hosting Cooking and Crafting with J & J!
Michelle, I just found your site! These are adorable!!!! I love DIY projects. Do you spray them with a clear sealer of some type?
Thank you Lisa! 🙂 I didn’t spray them with a clear sealer myself, but if you want to I think it should work just fine.
So stinking cute Michelle!
Thanks for sharing at Something to Talk About!
Karen
Thank you so much Karen! 🙂 And thank you for hosting the link party!
I’m dropping by from the Create it Thursday link party. This is such a great idea! I have lots of pine cones in my yard and now I know what to do with them!
I have a link party that I am trying to grow. I invite you to share this idea — and a couple of others — at my Grandma Ideas Sharing Time link party at http://grandmaideas.com. I think my readers would enjoy this as much as I do!
The party goes from Wednesday through Friday at midnight Mountain Daylight time. I hope to see you there!
All the best,
Nina
Hi Nina! I’m happy this gave you some inspiration for your pine cones! And I will definitely swing by to link up at your party! Thank you for inviting me! 🙂
this is such a cute idea! Love it!
Thank you Tianna! I’m glad you like them! 🙂
These are so cute! I had no idea at first that they were made of pinecones. Too cute!
Thank you Alison! 🙂
Michelle, I fell in love with these the moment I saw them!
Congrats – you are one of our Featured Guests at Inspire Me Monday at Create With Joy!
Have an amazing week!
Thank you so much!!! 🙂 I’m very flattered you would choose this as one of your features! You have a great week as well!
These are so darling. We have quite a few pine trees on our property, I’ll be going on a pine cone search for sure. Can’t wait to make some of these!
Thank you Jane! 🙂
These are really cute! Thanks for sharing your creativity with the Thursday Blog Hop!
You’re welcome Pam! Thank you for hosting! 🙂
Hello cute lady! Just stopping by to let you know that you will be featured at our party this Monday at 7 pm. Thanks for bringing such amazing things to our party! Lou Lou Girls
Thank you so much for choosing this as one of your features!!! 🙂 I’ll be by tomorrow to check it out!
What a great idea, these magnets are so pretty! Thanks for sharing at What’d You Do This Weekend?!
You’re welcome, and thank you for hosting! 🙂
totally cool! love these pine cone flowers and then add a magnet! woot! 🙂 If you get a chance, hope you will stop by our upcycle challenge craft link up: http://2crochethooks.com/july-craft-challenge-features/
Thank you and I will definitely swing by!
Those magnets are awesome! Please share at our link party! #OMHGWW
http://twochicksandamom.blogspot.com/2015/08/thanks-for-stopping-by-for-another-oh.html
Thank you Donna! 🙂 I will definitely swing by and share them! Thanks!
These are super cute!! Looks good!! Thanks for sharing on My 2 Favorite Things on Thursday – Link Party!! Hope to see you again this week!! I pin everything on my 2 favorite things pinterest board!!
Thank you! 🙂
Thank you, thank you, thank you for sharing this at my Grandma Ideas Sharing Time link party. This is a fabulous idea and you are so talented.
Awe, thank you Nina! (blush) 🙂
So nice i do that too and I made necklacs too but am Haveing a hard time cutting them
I apologize for the extremely late reply – I didn’t see your comment until now. If wire cutters aren’t cutting it (ha), try using larger wire cutters or a small hand saw. Hope that helps! 🙂
My daughter and I made these together. They turned out great! The only problem we had, was with the magnets. I was wondering if you have any tips or if you had this issue. They would stay on the fridge but weren’t strong enough to hold even paper. I’m not sure if I should get a bigger/stronger magnet or what went wrong. We did the same magnet size as you.
Hi Courtney,
I’m sorry you’re having problems with the magnets. Unfortunately all magnets are not created equal, and same size does not mean that they are going to be the same strength. The magnets I used can easily hold a sheet of printer paper on our refrigerator. I’d recommend getting different magnets, and look for ones that say “industrial” or “strong” on the label. I hope that helps! 🙂
Looks like you placed something in the middle of the Daisy type magnet. What was it? Thanks
Hi Joan! No, I didn’t put anything in the Daisy pine cones – it’s just the rough edges of the pine cone where I cut it in half.
I was very enthused about making these. Took off some of the top scales, painted the cones but could not get the magnets to attach. There was no smooth flat surface for the magnets to be glued to or to make contact with the cones. Perhaps I did not take off enough of the scales but since pine cone scales tend to curve upward, I don’t know if that would have helped. The latter might have provided contact of the magnet, but I don’t think the magnet would have been able to make contact with the fridge.
Hi Joan! There isn’t a smooth surface on the bottom of the pine cones. To make up for this, I used as much hot glue as I needed to secure the magnet to the pine cone to where the magnet was level. Hot glue dries quickly so this was easy enough to do. I hope that helps! 🙂
Wow!!! What cool magnets you made 🙂
I grew up with pine trees, then as an adult lived in a huge piece of property with all kinds and shapes of evergreens. Naturally I collected pinecones and bark pieces that gave me crafting ideas. Moved to SoCal recently and brought my ‘craft stash’s with me. My Man thinks I’m nuts…ok maybe I am but in an arty- crafty way! I’m gonna try some of these with my pinecone dolls. Love making and selling dolls(fabric,paper,lace,cardstock,wicker,
recyclables…). I’ve done these types of things since I was a kid with encouraging parents. :). Thanks for the super instructions. I’m new to cellphones so don’t have any pics to send, I’ll subscribe if I can and may be able to send pics when I learn how to use the camera. I’m not real electronic smart. Just Simple Me. 🙂
Hi Sage! Welcome to California! I’m up in Central California 🙂 Thanks so much for subscribing and I’m so happy that my pinecone magnets project inspired you!