Lay your eye level with the scales of the pinecone and you'll find that each one is as beautifully wrought as a flower petal. This resemblance inspired us to turn pinecones into lustrous golden-brown blossoms, perfect for table decorations and gift embellishments that will last not only for this Thanksgiving and Christmas, but for many holiday seasons to come.

It's amazingly easy to effect the transformation from cone to bloom. Just snip the scales off the stem, and then glue them together in the shape of a flower. The resulting blossoms may be as dainty as a violet or as spiky as a dahlia. If a variety of cone types isn't abundant where you live, look online or in crafts stores. All you'll need to coax blossoms from your finds are floral supplies: cutters, wire, and glue. When you place these adornments alongside the season's bounty, you'll likely conclude that nature has come up with some wonderful decorating ideas.