Pinecone Flowers

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Ok, on with the tutorial! Sorry it has been so long since I've posted one, it's been a little crazy around here with the start of a new job! This tute comes to you a la Martha Stewart. I borrowed the Encyclopedia of Crafts from the library a week or two ago and I have been loving it! She really is a genius! She features some pinecone crafts and the pinecone flowers were my favorite. I didn't really follow her instructions...but I can't say that this idea was mine. It was all Martha's.

Aren't they so pretty?? And the great thing is they're really easy to make!! To make one, you will need:

• Pinecones (any kind, just make sure you shake all the bugs out!! You will scream when one crawls out during your project. Not that I would know...)
• Coordinating felt
• Scissors
• Glue gun
• Pruning shears (or any other kind of shears used for gardening. DO NOT USE SCISSORS FOR THIS!!!)
• Some kind of embellishment for the center. Pearl, beads, whatever!

The first thing you need to do snip all the scales off your pinecones using SHEARS, NOT scissors. You will absolutely ruin any scissors if you try. So please, don't use scissors. I found the best way to do this is to sip them off in a V shape instead of straight across. This means you need to snip twice to get each scale off, but you'll get much more scale and a more even cut.

See? Pretty V shaped scales.

These are the ones I tried to cut straight across. FAIL. Most of them broke and were totally uneven.

 Once you've sniped off enough scales (if they all remain in tact you'll need less than one to make a flower) cut a circle out of your coordinating felt. The size can be whatever you'd like, big or small. 

Dot glue around the edge and carefully glue pinecone scales around the edge. 

Keep going around the edge. Then, do the same exact thing on the inner circle, overlapping the first layer. If you've got more felt, keep adding layers until you've reached the center. 

Glue on your embellishment and you're done! You can add a pin back to it, glue it to a headband, or anything you'd like! Martha suggests adding them to place cards or napkin rings. I have an idea for a whole bunch of these...but I'm going to keep it to myself this time. Maybe you'll see it soon!

Happy crafting!