How To - Make A Woodland Christmas Scene In A Shell

Craft, lovely craft - I thought I was all made out after sending a big box full of stuff to a great Christmas craft shop I am selling in, but I had a fresh burst of inspiration this week, thanks to a delivery from Baker Ross. Time to blog again as they very kindly sent me some items from their naturals collection to try out.

When I first opened the box I wasn't quite sure what to make of it - I was expecting autumn stickers, maybe something seasonal to craft for Halloween or fireworks night - my box had 2 bags of decorative stones, a bag of twigs, wicker balls, craft wreath rings, pine cones, and large shells. Couldn't see how these were going to come together to make some projects, but the shells looked ideal for a base for something so I started with that, then thoughts turned to Christmas, and eventually this was the result. Here's how I made my woodland scene.

Materials:

- Something to rest your pine cone in while painting
- Pine cone
- Green and white paint, and paint brush
- Decorative stones and small gemstones
- Snowflake flat back
- Glitter glue
- Children's toy stuffing
- Small wooden animal embellishment that can stand upright when glued

Instructions:

The main thing with this make is patience while things are drying - so find a safe place to place things before you start.

First step is to get your shell and choose a pine cone to sit in it - it doesn't really matter whether you choose an opened out or closed in cone, just so long as it will stand up straight on the inside of your shell (you can trim the bottom a bit if needed).

Next paint the pine cone green, I used a fairly thin paint brush so I could get in all the grooves. Try not to layer it on too thick, and rotate it as you go, leaving areas to dry if needed, so you don't end up with messy paint covered fingers.

When the green paint is completely dry, gently paint some of the tips of the pine cone white to make the illusion of snow.

When the pine cone is completely dry, use your glue gun to secure it in place on the shell, then stick the snowflake flat back on the top and again leave a little while to dry.

Now it's time for decoration - Stick your chosen animal embellishment on the shell, ideal spot is roughly in the middle in front of your pine cone Christmas tree.

Play around with some pebbles and stones, to make a wooden floor effect. I chose one bigger pebble, and then some from the smaller bag - so the weight didn't over balance the shell. Once you are happy glue these into place with the glue gun.

For a finishing touch arrange small amounts of toy stuffing around the empty spaces in the shell, and then carefully put some glitter glue in places to add some sparkle.

I've never tried making anything like this before, but was really happy with how it turned out. Hope to experiment creating some other scenes soon. Baker Ross really challenged me by sending pebbles and shells, but they are lovely quality, and work well to build other things on or around. Find the full Naturals Collection at Baker Ross.

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