Craft Corner: Nature Holiday Ornaments

Learn to make bark ornaments, pine cone elves, and twig snowflakes. 

Want to enjoy the magic of the winter wonderland and the warmth of a wood stove? Bring the magic of the outdoors into your cozy winter abode! Stoke the fire, grab a cup of cocoa, and check out our round-up of nature-inspired crafts to celebrate the season.

Remember: For crafts involving natural materials, only use materials that are no longer living.

Bark Ornaments
Supplies: bark, glue, sugar sprinkles or other natural materials to glue down, twine, scissors, power drill
1. Collect bark from a woodpile or the forest floor and dry it first. Break it up into smaller pieces. The flatter the pieces of bark are, the easier they will be to work with.
 2. Create a shape in glue (like a circle to make a wreath or a triangle for a Christmas tree). Make sure not to go too heavy on the glue as it runs.
3. Add your sprinkles or other natural materials to the glue. Set aside to dry. For younger crafters, larger pieces are easier to handle.
4. Drill a hole in the top part of the bark using a power drill.
5. Cut the twine in 10-12-inch pieces and thread it through the hole. Tie the loose ends together in a knot. Then hang!
Source: Rain or Shine Mama

Pine Cone Elves

Supplies: Small Pine cones, wooden balls (or an acorn with the cap), felt, craft glue (or hot glue gun), twine, black paint or black fine tip marker, string, small bells
1. Cut out the shapes needed for the hat, scarf and shoes.
2. Glue the ball onto the top of the pine cone.
3. Fold the rounded triangle in half and add a tiny bead of glue down the seam to form the hat.
4. Add the tiny bell to the top of the hat and glue it onto the wooden ball.
5. Wrap the scarf around the head and attach with more hot glue.
6. Sandwich 2 heart shaped pieces of felt together for the shoes and attach to the bottom of the pine cone with hot glue.
7. Add 2 tiny dots of paint for the eyes.
8. Finally, glue a piece of string to the back of the hat.
Source: One Little Project

Twig Snowflakes
Supplies: Twigs, branch cutters, glue, jute twine
1. Cut twigs down to the size you want for snowflake. Cutting an angle on some pieces can make gluing easier.
2. Lay out twigs in design and glue together.
3. Once dry, cut pieces of jute twine and glue to back of snowflake.
4. Hang your ornament!
Source: The DIY Dreamer

Grab your cup of cheer and get creative! Will your elves find themselves in sticky situations? Or perhaps you’ve been inspired to make your own winter craft? Make sure to share them to our Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter accounts with #VTStateParks.

What's your favorite way to celebrate the winter season? Share in the comments below!