# Snowy Cones
> Glue small cotton balls onto pine cone scales to make little snowy pine trees, then stand them in pots or cups of mud. A bonus idea: paint the scales in every color.
- URL: https://www.funlittles.com/snowy-cones/
- Ages: 3–8 yrs · Difficulty: easy · Mess: medium
- Time: prep 5 min, activity 20 min
- Works for: one-on-one, small group, whole class
- Skills: fine-motor, creativity, nature-exploration, colors

## Materials (one batch)
- Pine cones
- Cotton balls
- 1 piece White school glue
- 1 piece Small pots or small cups (optional) (household)
- Mud (optional) (household)
- Kids' paint (optional)
- 1 piece Paintbrush (optional)

## Substitutions
- Instead of cotton balls: Loose cotton pulled and rolled into small balls (The author says making the balls from cotton makes it even more fun for the kids.)
- Instead of pots or cups: Small cups with mud (Either works for standing up individual snowy pinecone trees.)

## Safety
- Supervise young children: cotton balls and small pine cones are not for mouthing.
- Pine cone scale tips can be sharp. Check gathered cones and handle them gently.
- Use washable, non-toxic glue and paint, and wash hands afterward.

## Before you start
- Gather pine cones and check them for loose debris.

## Steps
1. Give each child a pine cone and a pile of cotton balls.
2. No cotton balls? Pull cotton into small balls.
3. Put glue on the cone layers (the scales).
4. Stick the small cotton balls onto the glue.
5. Keep going until your cone looks snowy.
6. Set the cones somewhere to dry.
7. Stand each dry cone in a small pot or a cup of mud to make a snowy pinecone tree.

## Tips
- If you don't have cotton balls, it makes it even more fun for the kids to make balls from cotton.
- Make extras, let them dry and store them in a container for another craft, like a pinecone wreath for the winter.
- It's so much fun to paint a pinecone. She gets to use all her colors in one place, on one thing!
- A great snow craft for a hot summer afternoon when the kids are wishing for snow.

## The original post by TurkeyMom (2012)

It was a hot afternoon. The temperature is soaring at a 105 degrees F. Big S comes running in from the backyard. “Mommy when will it start to snow? I want to make snow angels” Big S loves the snow… she's a snow bunny ! Living in Missouri has its perks you know? No No really! Looking into my treasure pile, I found some pine cones and some old cotton balls . Perfect ! Here's what we decided to do… Let it snow , let it snow , let it snow !

1. Pine cones
2. Cotton balls
3. Glue

Big S : Are we gonna make snow mommy? I love snow… ( She meant real snow though. She wasn’t too happy about the cotton ball snow theory , but the glue was too hard to pass on. So she decided to give it a try ) This is what we did If you don't have cotton balls, it makes it even more fun for the kids to make balls from cotton. Make small balls of cotton and let the kids put glue on the cone layers and stick the cotton to it ! Its that easy. Put them in a pot or small cups with mud to make individual ‘snowy pinecone trees’ as Big S calls it !





Make extras, let them dry and you can store them in a container for another craft. A pinecone wreath for the winter. Will post the pictures soon on that one. Now did you notice our "drying rack" ??? Did you also notice the color cones??? Well it just kept getting better... Well, we made enough snowy cones and now Big S couldn’t resist temptation anymore. Big S : Mommy I want to paint ! Me: Leave the cones to dry and get your coloring book ! Big S : No mom ! I want to paint the cones. I want to paint all the brown thing’es .. what are they? Are they leaves ??? Me: They are called scales ! Well, Big S was right ! Its so much fun to paint a pinecone. She gets to use all her colors in one place onto one thing ! It was all her idea. You know that proud momma feelin’ … oh boy I was full of it J !

1. Pinecones
2. Paint
3. Brush

Let their creative juices flow !  Well, that was on hot afternoon that deserved some good snow crafts !