The hot glue gun is to crafting what Netflix is to Christmas movies: absolutely essential. It’s amazing how heat and glue can so easily merge ordinary objects into something new — like how these wine corks and pinecones become nifty Christmas trees.
These crafts are especially awesome because you’re making a tree craft using parts of three different, actual trees: a pinecone (free from a pine tree), a cork (also from a tree and free with every bottle of wine), and cute little unfinished wooden stars.
We recommend making a few of these, so you can have a little forest of your own or surprise friends with them as gifts — or both!
How cute would a grouping of these trees be on your mantel, atop a special gift, or as part of a nativity crèche? You might also try using pinecones of various sizes to replicate a wintertime forest.
This craft is extra fun because it requires wine corks — and to get those, you must drink wine. So, pour yourself a glass of vino, heat up the glue gun, put on A Christmas Story, and get crafting!
ALSO SEE: How to make homemade candles for the holidays
Supplies for each pinecone Christmas tree
- Hot glue gun and glue sticks
- Pinecone (size is your choice – ours were about 5 inches tall)
- Wine cork
- Green spray paint
- Small wooden star
- Optional additions: fake snow, glitter
Directions: How to make a pinecone Christmas tree
- On the bottom of a pinecone, glue a wine cork. This will be the base of your Christmas tree.
- Lightly spray-paint the pinecone green. It doesn’t need to be completely coated — a light coat is better than a thick, drippy one.
- Hot-glue the star onto the top of the pinecone.
- Toss on a little fake snow
Fun fact: Did you know that there are male and female pinecones? The ones shown here are all female. Find out more about pinecone genders here!