How to Make a Pinecone Elf

Make elf Christmas decorations out of pine cones.

Making your own decorations for Christmas is cost-efficient and adds a homemade touch to the holidays. Crafting an elf from a pinecone makes the perfect decoration to hang on your pine Christmas tree, give as a gift, or place on a tabletop. Making a pinecone elf is a simple craft that children enjoy helping with. It requires basic materials that can be purchased from a craft store.

Things You'll Need

• Pinecone
• Pipe cleaners (brown, green, red)
• Felt (green and red)
• Scissors
• Ruler
• Hot glue gun
• Hot glue sticks
• Black marker
• Pencil
• Large wooden craft bead
• Small jingle bell

Instructions

1. Use a ruler and scissors to cut two 4-inch long pieces of pipe cleaner, to function as the arms and legs of the pinecone elf. Use brown to match the pinecone, or a more festive color such as red or green.

2. Hold the pinecone so the flat bottom points up. Arrange one length of pipe cleaner in the scales of the upper half of the pinecone to resemble arms. Position the second length of pipe cleaner in the lower half of the pinecone and bend the ends up, to resemble legs with feet.

3. Use hot glue to secure the pipe cleaner arms and legs in the pinecone. Draw a face on a large wooden bead, to be the head of the pinecone elf.

4. Hot-glue the large wooden bead to the flat top of the pinecone. The pinecone elf now has arms, legs and a head.

5. Use a pencil to lightly draw the shapes of two mittens and two pointy elf shoes on a piece of red or green felt. Draw a long rectangle, which becomes the pinecone elf's scarf, and a triangle, which becomes a hat, as well. Cut the shapes out.

6. Hot-glue the felt mittens and elf shoes to the pinecone elf's hands and feet, and the felt scarf around where the pinecone and the wooden-bead head meet. Form the triangle, cut-out into a cone, using your fingers; secure it with a line hot glue where the felt overlaps, to make a hat.

7. Hot-glue the elf hat to the top of the wooden bead and add a small jingle bell on top to finish your pinecone elf.

Tips & Warnings

• More a more complicated craft project best for older children, teenagers and adults, use a needle and thread to sew wearable mittens, boots and hats for pinecone elves.

• Exercise caution when working with sharp scissors and a hot glue gun.

References

• Martha Stewart: Pinecone Elves