Pinecone Ornaments

I love these Pinecone Ornaments.  I honestly don’t remember where my mom learned to make them.  I think it was a craft night she went to.  Anyway, they are pretty simple and a fun ornament.  They can be done fun, cute, or pretty depending on what colors you use.

What you are going to need:

Styrofoam eggs- There are two sizes that work: the 6 pk of 1/2 inch, and the next size up (not sure the exact size because I didn't have any packing left on the bigger eggs).

Wrapping ribbon- The type that is about 3/4 inch wide.  I have rolls that have 4 colors.  It is fun to use different colors and textures. 

Straight pins- They don't have to be real long.  Probably at least the 1 inch.

Scissors

Narrow wrapping ribbon or normal ribbon to do a loop to hang them from.

 To get started, get out one of your styrofoam eggs.  I like to put a pin in the top of the narrow end where you feel center is.

Next, you will need to cut the ribbon.  I usually eye it. They should be about 1 1/2 inches long.

Once your ribbon is cut, grab one of the pieces and fold over the edges into a triangle.  The top corners should meet at the middle on the bottom of the ribbon.  Make sure you fold with the wrong side of the ribbon facing you so the right side is facing once folded.

Once folded, you will flip it over so the folded edges are down.  Put the narrow tip of the triangle against the pin you put in the top center of the egg.  Use another pin and pin the point down.

Do this again with 3 more pieces so you have 4 points meeting in the middle.  On the 4th triangle, I pull out the pin in the center of the egg and use it to pin down the point.

 Now you will need to pin down the outer corners.  They will need to overlap a little as shown in the picture above.  You can put one pin through the corner of both overlapping corners so it hold them both down.  Repeat around, there should be 4 pins total the lower corners.

 You will add more rows now.  Continue folding triangles then pin on the next piece.  Each row will have 4 triangles.  It will be much easier and lay better if you make sure you stick to that rule.  Center the next row over the line between two triangles on the first row.  You will do this with each of the 4 pieces.

 Continue in this same technique.  Add rows centering between the triangles on the row before, always using 4 triangles per row.  Make sure you are covering the gap that you can see in the photo above so no styrofoam is left showing.  You will also want to make sure you are pinning the triangles in the outer corners so it won't be hard to cover the pins from showing.

 As you get close to the top of the egg, you will have to put each row closer together to cover the styrofoam and keep the pins from the row before from showing.

 Once you get to the point where the triangles line up in a square you will need to change the triangles a little.  As you can see in the photo below, the edges of each triangle are lining up along the edge of the triangle next to it.  Does that make sense?

 At this point, you will need to overlap the edges of the triangle when you fold it.  The edges won't stay even across the bottom of the triangle.  Hope you can see what I mean in the photo below.

 Here is what it looks like when you pin them on.

It is sometimes easier for me to do the 4 triangles in 2's.  I still do 4 per row, but I do one and then instead of going next to it, I go across and then do the other direction 2 across from each other.

 When you are at your last row and can see that the next triangles will cover the gap between the other triangles, I trim off the overlap along the bottom of the triangle.

 Here is what it should look like finished:

 Here you go!

 Here is what it looks like done and the two sizes of eggs you can use.

Now the final touch.  Cut the narrow ribbon how long you want to make a loop to hang it from.

I just loop them around into a knot.

Then I stick 3 pins in staggered across and push them in.

Now hang on your tree and enjoy!!!

~Andrea