Tools and Materials

• Pinecones, from winterwoods.com
• Wool felt, from magiccabin.com
• Brown pipe cleaners
• Hot-glue gun
• 3/4-inch wooden craft bead
• Acrylic paint
• Disappearing-ink pen
• Needle and thread to match felt
• Shoe template
• Metallic bell bead or very small metallic jingle bell

Pinecone Elves How-To

1. Make arms and legs: Cut 2 pieces, each about 4 inches long, from brown pipe cleaners. Hold a pinecone (about 2 inches long) so bottom end points up. Tuck 1 piece of pipe cleaner between the scales of the pinecone, positioning it as the arms. Position the other piece as legs. Secure with a hot-glue gun. Bend ends of legs to make feet.

2. Make head: Hot-glue a 3/4-inch wooden craft bead (hole side down) to the end of the pinecone. Draw 2 eyes with a black felt pen. Dab a small, dry paintbrush into red acrylic paint; blot. Lightly dab on wooden bead for rosy cheeks.

3. Make mittens: Print and cut out the mitten template. Stack 2 pieces of felt. Place mitten template on top and trace with a disappearing-ink pen; cut out shapes. Repeat to make another pair. With matching thread, use a tight whipstitch to sew together pairs of mitten shapes.

4. Make shoes: Print and cut out the shoe templates. Stack 2 pieces of felt. Place shoe templates on top, and trace with a disappearing-ink pen. With matching thread, use a tight whipstitch to sew 1 teardrop piece to 1 notched piece around the point of the teardrop. At the rounded end, pull the notched ends together to make the shoe's opening. Repeat.

5. Make scarf and hat: Cut out a rectangular piece of felt. For hat, print and cut out template. Trace template onto felt using a disappearing-ink pen. Form into a cone; sew the straight edges together. Use the end of a paintbrush or chopstick to turn the cone inside out. Attach a metallic bell bead by pulling needle and thread up through pointy section and through bell, then back down again; knot underneath.

6. Place mittens and shoes on elf; if arms and legs look long, remove mittens and shoes and trim arms and legs. Put on hat; it should pitch back slightly. Tie on scarf.