Vintage Inspired Christmas Pine Cone Elves

Hello Everyone! Today I have a cute vintage inspired craft to share with you, Pine cone Elves. You can find the vintage version at flea markets, or online at places like Etsy and Ebay. Most of the time they are more than I can afford, so I decided to make some of my own. I don’t know how I did it, but I seem to have completely lost my tutorial pictures, so I will have to take you through the steps without pictures. So, if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask. These little guys are so much fun to make, and they’d be a great family craft to do with your kids.

Here’s What You Need:

*Small Pinecones

*Round Wood Balls 1″ size

*White Craft Paint

*Red Puff Paint

*Micron or fine point sharpie

*Felt

*Pipe Cleaners

*Mini trees, mushrooms, etc…

*Wood disks

*Hot Glue

*Bandsaw or Handsaw

Step 1: Prep Pine cones- The first thing you want to do is cut down your pine cones. My hubby cut the bottoms off with his band saw, but if you don’t have access to power tools, you can use a handsaw. Cut the pinecones down so that they are 2-3 inches tall. You can spray them with fake snow if you like. The tip of the pine cone is going to be the bottom of the elf, and the top where you cut down is going to have a ball glued to it for the head.

Step 2: Make the head- Paint the wood balls white. When the paint is dry, you can draw in the eyes with your pen and paint a drop of red puff paint for the nose. To make the hats, cut a triangle with a rounded bottom. I folded the felt corner in half to a point and cut down about 1.5 inches. Glue the sides of the felt together to form a cone. To make a beard, cut strips of the fuzzy pipe cleaners and glue to the head. Then glue the hat to the head.

Step 3: Finish the Elf- To make the arms cut a strip of pipe cleaner. Bend a little bit in the middle and hot glue to the back of the head, so that the ends bend around to form arms. You can bend the ends out a little to form hands. Hot glue your accessory(tree, candy cane, etc..) to the hand where you like it best. To make the feet bend a loop then bend another so you end up with a kind of heart shape. Snip any excess pipe cleaner off. Glue feet to the bottom of your pine cone. Glue the elf to a wooden disk. And that’s it, easy peasy!

I love these little guys! They are a bit different from their vintage counterparts, but I still think they are charming! You can make one or make a whole village of them! You can change-up the way they look with the way you draw the faces, and the color felt and pipe cleaners. Make them your own. They add a fun and sweet little ambiance to your holiday decor. I hope you will try these out, you will have a blast! I made these with my mom, and we had so much fun making them together! Overall a fun, inexpensive, and adorable project for the holidays! Be sure to tune in tomorrow for more holiday tutorials!

Happy Crafting!