Holiday Kids Craft – Fun with Pinecones

Holiday Kids Craft – Fun with Pinecones

 In Kids Crafts
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There’s no better way to bond with your little one than making something together. With that in mind, we’ve collected some adorable pinecone crafts that are perfect for little kids this winter. 

Making these delightful pinecone creations is not only a fun indoor activity: it’s a wonderful way to get your kids moving and in the fresh air, and it’s a great learning opportunity about nature. 

Go foraging for pinecones and other craft supplies like leaves and acorns. Talk about the shapes and textures of everything you find and have your child arrange their new collection by size or sorted into textures.

Once you’re done with foraging, make sure to clean those pinecones out of bugs and sap before you get to work! Amy at DIY Candy suggests either baking them in the oven (at 200 degrees) or with a solution of water and vinegar (one cup of water to ½ cup of vinegar). Bake or soak your ‘cones for about 30 minutes.

(And if you don’t have any pine trees by you, do not fear! You can order pinecones online or buy them at your local craft store.) 

Craft materials that you may need for pinecone crafts:

  • Paint (non-toxic acrylic works best for longevity, but tempera is safer with smaller children) 
  • Felt/fabric
  • Googly eyes
  • Pipe cleaners 
  • Pom poms
  • Feathers
  • Mod podge/ hot glue gun/ craft glue
  • Glitter

Now, without further ado, here are some of the best pinecone crafts we’ve found on the internet:

Pinecone Snowy Owls From Red Ted Art

These snowy owls are so cute and are great for both playtime and holiday decorations. All you need for these are glue, cotton balls, felt, and googly eyes. They’re so much sensory fun. Here’s an abbreviated version of the full craft activity from Red Ted Art (make sure to read the full article to incorporate some fun learning opportunities into this craft):

Supplies:

  • Pinecones
  • Cotton balls
  • Craft glue
  • Felt
  • Scissors
  • Googly eyes

Optional

  • Hot glue gun
  • Ribbon or string

Step 1: Tear apart some cotton balls.

Step 2: Stuff the cotton balls into the pinecone.

Step 3: Cut two circles and a triangle out of felt or fabric.

Step 4: Using craft glue, glue the circles for the eyes and the triangle for the beak.

Step 5: Complete your owl with some googly eyes.

Step 6 (Optional): Hot glue a looped ribbon to hang your snow owl up. 

Frosty Pinecones From Kids’ Craft Room 

Adding white paint to glue will level up this classic holiday pine cone craft (Kids’ Craft Room calls for acrylic, but you may want to switch it out for tempera).

Supplies:

  • Pinecones
  • White paint (tempera or non-toxic acrylic)
  • Craft glue
  • Glitter

Optional:

  • Hot glue gun
  • Ribbon or string
  • Glitter glue

Step 1: Mix some craft glue and white paint on a plate.

Step 2: Roll your pinecone around in the mixture. Use your fingers to get the glue in the crevices (little fingers are great for this!)

Step 3: Dip or roll your pinecone in some glitter while the glue and paint mixture is still wet

Step 4: Let the pinecones dry and knock off the excess glitter. 

Step 5 (optional): Use some colorful glitter glue to decorate your pinecone further and make them pop even more.

Step 6 (optional): Use a glue gun to glue on a looped ribbon to hang your glittery creations!

Pinecone Christmas Tree

There are so many fun variations to pinecones Christmas trees. Use glitter, glittery pipe cleaners, ribbons, and beads to embellish your pinecone trees.

Supplies you will need:

  • Pinecones
  • Green paint (tempera or non-toxic acrylic)
  • Brushes
  • Craft glue
  • Pom poms

Optional:

  • Glitter
  • Pipe cleaners
  • Ribbons and string
  • Air-dry clay
  • Hot glue gun

Step 1: Paint your pinecone green. Use a paintbrush to get into all the little crevices. You can also drip the paint on top of the pinecone (a fun and messy activity for your little one!) and then use the paintbrush to push it into all the nooks and crannies of the pinecone. This might help you get it greener and brighter, but it’s also messier. In this step, you can also sprinkle some glitter on top of your pinecone tree. 

Step 2: Let that paint dry.

Step 3: Glue decorations — little pom poms, beads, and whatever else you might like. You can make a star from air dry clay to hot glue on top of your tree, for example.

Step 4: Hot glue a little looped ribbon or string to hang up your tree decoration. 

Pinecone Monsters From Craft and Creativity

These pinecone monsters from Craft and Creativity are more adorable than spooky! We’ve added some other fun optional steps to make these monsters even more exciting.

Supplies you will need:

  • Pinecones
  • Tempera paint or non-toxic acrylic paint
  • Brushes
  • Craft glue
  • Googly eyes

Optional:

  • Felt 
  • Hot glue gun
  • String or ribbon  

Step 1: Have your kids paint the pinecones in bright colors.

Step 2: Let the paint dry.

Step 3: Glue on googly eye or eyes (try gluing on just one eye, or six eyes, to make for an even more exciting monster) 

Step 4: Glue on pipe cleaner arms, legs, and tentacles. You can make sharp teeth by cutting some small felt triangles, or add wings and ears using fabric or felt. Let your creativity run wild!

Step 5 (optional): Hot glue a little looped ribbon or string to hang up your monster.

 

Make sure to send us pictures of your pinecone crafts!

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