pinecone

crafts, create, gardening, kids

A quick blog post to share with you the wonder that is camping… and the sort of crafts you can do whilst you are stuck in a Pine Forest in #FrenchFrance and the boy’s pineapple pinecone.

Pinecone Pineapple
We go on holiday every year with some lovely family friends, and as the kids get older, they get more and more feral, and tend to take themselves off in packs, doing their own thing, whether it comes to popping to the camp playground to make new friends, or getting crafty with the paints and pencils we still take with us every year… So it was with much delight that I found this Pine Cone Pineapple creation by our eldest, he liked it so much he posted it onto his new ‘now I am going into Year 7 please may I have an Instagram account?’ instagram feed….

Pine forest

It was a very visually inspiring place it has to be said… with the largest sand dunes in the World on our doorstep in a pine forest at the foot of the Dune de Pyla. You just had to look UP and the view was pretty awesome too… Look at those leaves!

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crafts, create, google+ hangouts, kids

Chaos writes:pine cone hedgehogs

Looking for something different to make with the air-drying clay we bought AGES ago from my namesake the poet Graham Clifford at Canonbury Arts, when I was working in Islington. And at the same time, pondering, what do we do with the pile of pine cones we have beside the fireplace? So we figured, this adorable hedgehog!

So easy to make this little fella, one large ball of clay, formed into an upturned face, four smaller balls, flattened for feet, claws indented with the ends of a pair of scissors, two petal shaped ears, and a little bobbly nose… I find that having a little cup of water to soften the clay whilst you are working, really helps… we used felt-tipped pens for the colour detail when the clay had dried. The feet, I’ll admit, keep falling off, so we glue-gunned them on.

We are going to try some more over the Easter break with some Fimo instead of the clay, as it’s it’s more malleable for the kids, will let you know how we get on!
Pine-Cone-Craft-Ideas-youtubeTHEN Maggy at Red Ted Art invited a few of us creative types to ‘hang out’ on Google+ to share our pine cone expertise…! I must admit we did have a FEW technical problems, from falling cameras to lost internet connections!   You can see the edited version here, and yes, I do pop up at both ends of the video with my superman cape flapping behind me….please do take a look at the following links from the other creatives for shed loads of pine cone inspiration. Lizzie at Me and my Shadow produced a most fabulous photo holder, which is what we are going to make with the ‘spare’ pine cones we have. Aly at Plus 2 point 4 had some printing with pine cones. Anthea at Zing Zing Tree made a very adaptable felt animal creation.
The Frog & The Fairy made some adorable small world play trees. Jen Mum at the Madhouse made a gorgeous owl. Kelly (and her small person) Domestic Goddesque shows us how to make a beautiful door hanging, and of course, our lovely host, author Red Ted Art shares some pine cone babies from her book.
Oh, Maggy’s book is launched 28 March 13, so don’t forget to order your copy now!

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