Make a pinecone hedgehog
Myra From My Little Mochi kindly sent us this tutorial.
This is an easy winter craft I did with my son. Unfortunately, we don’t have pinecones in our part of the world, but if you do in yours it would make for a nice joint nature walk and craft to go look for a variety of different shaped pinecones.
You will need:
Tan polymer clay for face, ears, legs
Black polymer clay for nose
Pinecone
Large (4 mm) black beads for eyes
Powder blush/rouge
Small paint brush
Drinking straw for mouth
Toothpick for details
White tacky glue
For younger kids it might be good to prep the materials ahead
of time. Once all the materials are assembled it goes together
fairly quickly. And be sure the area is well ventilated during the
baking process.
Form the ball into a cone shape and firmly press it into the flat side of the pinecone. Use your thumb to further press and spread the outer edges of the cone onto the pinecone. Using your fingers slightly pinch the point of the cone upward to form an upturned nose.
Press the small and large logs into the bottom of the pinecone. Make sure the legs are placed so that the hedgehog is well balanced and won’t fall forward.
Use the toothpick to add details to the feet.
Slightly press the tiny balls onto the top of the head and then use the back of a small paint brush to create an indention for the inner ears. 
Use the toothpick to slightly score the tip of the cone/nose and then place a small ball of black polymer clay onto the scored area for the nose.
Press the black beads onto the face for the eyes.
This is a trick I use to make a quick and easy mouth. Use a pair of scissors to cut away half of the tip of a drinking straw to create a “U” shape and then press the “U” tip of the straw into the face for the mouth. Perfect mouth every time!
Prior to baking, use a small paintbrush and lightly apply blush to the inside of the ears and on the cheeks. Blow away any excess powder.
Bake according to manufacturer’s instructions in a well ventilated area.
Note: the pinecone may expand a bit during the baking process. Should any of the pieces fall off or come loose, use white tacky glue to re-attach to the pinecone.
All pau!
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I’ve never seen anything quite so gorgeous as these !!!
h&b November 21st, 2006 07:44
[...] Make a cute hedgehog from a pine cone. [...]
Make a Hedgehog Activity at Littlemummy.Com November 21st, 2006 08:14
Adorable! Thanks for the tutorial! I think that pine cones open up when dried (i.e. baked), so perhaps if you pre-bake your pine cones, and then cool them before adding the polymer clay bits, they’d be less likely to have stuff fall off later.
Amanda November 21st, 2006 08:53
Those are really sweet. And we have tons of pinecones. If every you want some I’ll be happy to post them to you.
toyfoto November 21st, 2006 11:30
It’s so cute. Now I’m in search for kids to share this tutorial. It’s too good to let pass.
Mon November 21st, 2006 12:44
That is the sweetest hedgehog! I’m definitely going to try that out. I’ve been wanting to try out polymer clay!
Liza November 21st, 2006 17:21
They are so cute!
Rebecca November 21st, 2006 20:25
Very cute. My kids are alittle young for this but I am going to print it and file it.
Erin November 21st, 2006 22:59
This is soo completely adorable!!
Amy November 21st, 2006 23:40
cutest hedgehogs ever! hhmmm i have some sculpey at home right now
gleek November 22nd, 2006 02:10
Oh my god, that’s lovely !
Amirtine November 22nd, 2006 05:15
[...] And my winner this week is Kiddley for their guest post on how to make a pinecone hedgehog – seriously, how cute is that hedgehog [...]
Hot Stuff : Interesting Internet Tidbits | GNMParents November 22nd, 2006 19:37
[...] Via Kiddley: I’ve been following this blog for a little while and I really love all their fun ideas for keeping the little ones entertained. Above: Posted by Myra of My Little Mochi on Kidley, here’s how to make adorable pinecone hedgehogs using polymer clay and beads. As with all polymer clay, once you bake them they harden and can endure a moderate level of punishment – though keeping some glue on hand just in case is never a bad idea! [...]
Cuteable » Blog Archive » Pinecone Hedgehogs November 27th, 2006 23:34
I made these this weekend with a 14 and 9 year old. They are adorable–but a note of caution. I did not “parse out” the clay–and each made a too big head, that weighed down the pinecone–and ended up making a huge balast in the back. I would either allott the clay in the future–or point out that the ball for the head does not need to be mammouth, because there is some balancing involved–hence the larger back feet. Nothing fell off in the oven–and other than that–a wonderful craft. Thank you!
Jane December 19th, 2006 01:21
This is sooo lovely I´mgoing tomake a thousand this Xmas.
Greetings from Mexico for your excelent page!
Ale May 5th, 2007 08:59
Those are simply adorable! Any child who can turn out the finished product looking as cute as the ones pictured above….well, give him a gold star because he’s going to be a great polymer artist someday!
Ben Can Dance June 30th, 2007 15:51
It’s so nice! Thanks Myra for the tutorial!
Silvia November 19th, 2007 09:52