Moisture in Cones Can Cause Problems for Crafters: Important Tip for Working with Cones
All materials are subject to the laws of nature. One of those laws is that the behavior of organic material changes depending on the moisture levels in the material and the environment it is in. Moisture levels in the air vary by geographic location, by season, by day and even if the cone is indoors or outdoors. In general, wet materials like wood tend to swell up as they absorb water. When they dry out, they shrink as they lose water. They may also warp. A cone is made of woody material and so is subject to these laws.
The Bottom Line: A cone that is subject to moist or wet conditions absorbs water and closes up over time. A cone that is in a warmer drier environment dries out and opens up. We all know this. One thing we don't all consider is that the moisture level in the air also varies depending on if the craft is made in one environment (indoors or outdoors) and displayed or stored in a different one or sent to a different climate.
How Does this Affect Crafting?
When you make a craft such as a wreath that uses more than a few cones packed closely together, and if the craft is made from cones stored in an environment with dry air, and moved outdoors where there is more moisture, the cones will close up, even just a little. If the cones are glued together rather than to a different surface, they may pull apart.
Alternatively, if you use cones that are not completely dry inside and pack the cones together, then put the craft in a drier environment such as outdoors on a hot summer day, the cones will expand further and push against each other for space. They will break the craft into pieces.
Large cones tend to open and close to a greater degree simply due to size. The larger the cone, the tighter they push against each other when they open. This is especially true if the cones are packed tightly together. If a cone is glued on, it may pop off from the wreath frame when it and the cones beside it open or close. For crafts where cones are more loosely packed, this isn't as much of an issue. However, they may still pull away from the base where they are glue simply because of the change of shape of the cone base when it opens and closes.
Cones at varying stages of opening.
Moisture level changes also affect crafts that use cone scales because they too are packed together and are glued to a surface. A scale that has moisture in it when the craft is created will expand and lift off the surface when it dries. When using scales for shingles on a bird house roof that will be left outdoors in the hot sun or a cold dry winter, the scales will start to pop off, leaving gaps in the roof.
These scales have not only lifted to show the glue underneath but they have also split.
There are several options:
1. When you are crafting, store the cones in the environment the craft will be displayed in for a few days to allow them to equalize with the moisture content of the air. Between crafting sessions, store the craft/cones in that same environment. It is fine to bring the cones in while you are actually working with them for a few hours, but be sure to return them when you are done the session.
2. For larger cones that need to be packed together, use wire rather than glue to attach large cones to a wreath base. The wire will keep the cone attached to the frame no matter how open or closed the cone is. Drilling a hole in the cone base allows you to to twist an eyelet into the hole without splitting the cone. Attach the wire to the eyelet and the craft frame.
3. Leave a little space between the cones and fill those spaces with other objects that won't expand and contract as much when moisture levels in he air change. Acorns and acorn caps, nuts and plastic balls and ribbons all work well. They can be glued to a single cone so when the cones expand and contract with the weather, they will move with the one cone. This prevents them from being won't be pulled apart and pushed together which pops them out of place.
Softer smaller cones such as hemlock work well to be pushed between the more obvious spaces and glued on wreath frames to cover the background color.
4. Wrapping styrofoam, straw or wire frames with burlap strips or other material not only covers the styrofoam, but allows smaller cones to be placed further apart to allow the cones to expand and contract without pulling out of the glue. If you desire a different color burlap background, paint or dip your burlap and dry it before wrapping. Other similarly rough-textured material of any color or pattern can also be used.
5. Using a variety of sizes of and textures of cones will decrease how much they expand and contract. One compensates for the other.
6. In drier climates like the prairies of Canada or Arizona, it might be a good idea to dry the scales in an oven at 80C (180F) to remove the moisture before gluing them on a roof if the house will be placed out in the garden. Sitting in the hot sun or freezing cold are both very dry conditions. It may also be a good idea to store outdoor creations in a protected location during extremes of the season if you want them to last longer.
