Paper Pinecones For Your Thanksgiving Table

Are you looking for some beautiful Thanksgiving tabletop decor, something with a bit of class and not too much turkey?

These oversized paper pinecones may be just what can add fun and flair to your tabletop or mantel, and they're quick and easy to make. Here's how:

1.  Purchase 3" egg-shaped styrofoam pieces like these that I found at A.C. Moore (2 for $4.99 -- use a coupon to lower that price).

2.  For each pinecone you want to make, take one full sheet of designer 12x12" paper.  I used an autumn mix of "Pathfinding" from Close To My Heart, and some complementing sheets I had from FarmHouse Paper and My Mind's Eye.

3.  Cut each sheet into 1" strips, and each strip into 1" square. You'll wind up with 144 1x1" squares, and you'll need most of them to cover your 3" egg.

4.  Fold down the upper corners of each piece into the center, like so:

5.  Starting at the narrow end of your styrofoam egg, pin the lower corners to the egg, leaving the tips you've folded loose and overlapping. 

I put an unfolded piece of paper over the top of my egg first, so no white would show through.  I pinned that on all four corners over the crown of the egg.  I used short dressmaker's pins from A.C. Moore for this egg, though you could use any flat-topped pin, including those that are available from the Dollar Store.


6.  Continue pinning the pieces all the way around the egg in rows, overlapping the tips like bricks, e.g., with the tip of the lower row centered over the flat part of the piece above it.

For these rows, I cut down on the number of pins I used by overlapping the pieces and snaring two pieces at each corner with just one pin, like so:

You're done when all the egg is covered with pieces. 

I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving, blessed with the love of family and good food, and a warm hearth.

DeFiaNtLy DiFfeReNt & CreAtiVeLy Yours,