A Handcrafted Ornament for Christmas

I created this Pinecone Ornament for a Christmas Swap and thought I'd share the tutorial here. It's a bit time consuming, but not difficult at all. If you have any questions, just email me. Enjoy!

PINECONE ORNAMENT

Materials Needed:
2 or 3 inch styrofoam egg
1 sheet 12x12 patterned paper
Ribbon
Dressmaker Pins (aka lace or bridal pins) *I call them "common pins".
Glue Gun
Optional: Springs of holly, pine, berries

Start by cutting your pattern paper into 1 inch strips. Next, trim the strips into 1 inch pieces. You will use most, if not all, of the 12x12 sheet of patterned paper, depending on how tight you layer your pieces. Next take your 1 inch pieces and fold in two corners to the center to create a point. The opposite end of the 1" square is left straight. Do this to all the squares before applying to the egg.

Now you're ready to start placing the pieces onto the styrofoam egg. You want to start at the narrow end of the egg. Place two trianges with the tips touching (one opposite the other) and pin each piece down using the dressmaker pins. You want to pin it along the straight edge opposite the point. Place two more pieces on either side of the first two, overlapping the edges. Keep layering the pieces, overlapping as you go around the egg. You want to make sure you're covering up the dressmaker pins as you layer each piece. Continue in rows until you reach the top of the egg.

Don't worry about the top pins showing They'll be covered with ribbon. Cut 2 pieces of ribbon 5 inches long and another one 8 inches long. Make small loops with the 5 inch pieces and hot glue to the top of the egg, covering the pins. Make a large loop with the 8 inch piece--this will be used to hang the ornament. You can also add berries, greenery, etc to add more sparkle to your creation.