How to Make a Pine Cone Owl

You can create this very simple owl craft by turning a pine cone upside down. In this project, the large end of the pine cone represents the owl's head. These owls are so quick and inexpensive to make, you'll want to make several this holiday season. Older children can help with the project. However, for safety's sake, you should handle the hot glue. Be sure to select a large pine cone with plenty of space between the scales.

Difficulty:

Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Large pine cone
• Felt
• Chenille stem
• Pom poms
• Wiggle eyes
• Hot glue

1. 

   Bend an orange chenille stem 1/2 inch away from the center, then create another bend an inch away from that. About halfway down one side, bend the chenille stem outward. Then bend this back upon itself to form an owl's toe. Bend it again where the two segments meet. Bend it twice more until there are three toes at the end of the stem. Repeat the process on the other side.

2. 

   Insert the leg assembly between the scales of the pine cone a little less than halfway from the smallest end. Make sure the feet are pointing toward the bottom of the pine cone. Secure the chenille stem with hot glue.

3. 

   Cut a small beak from yellow felt with a rounded edge at the top. Attach this with hot glue on the bottom of the pine cone.

4. 

   Attach two medium pom poms above the beak with glue. They may be any color that occurs in owls, such as black, brown or white.

5. 

   Attach the large wiggle eyes to the front of the pom poms. Move them around while the glue is still hot to ensure that they're properly centered.

6. 

   Cut a small piece of brown felt into a mid-sized triangular shape. Cut the end into four semicircles along a curved edge. Attach this piece in back at the smallest end of the pine cone to represent the owl's tail feathers.

7. 

   Balance the pine cone on the tail and feet when you put it on display.

Tips & Warnings

• Pine cone owls make lovely gifts around Thanksgiving and Christmas. They are also attractive placeholders for holiday meals.

• You may need to compress the pom poms slightly to get the eyes flush with each other.

• Do not allow children to work directly with hot glue.