Ponderosa Pine Christmas Centre Piece

This week, I found this very lightweight large cone in my collection. It was damaged and so not one I would sell. I decided to have some fun with it. I combined it with a piece of driftwood, some smaller cones and a last minute acorn elf and this is what came out of it!

Materials:
paint (white, yellow, green)
paintbrush
glue sticks and glue gun
scissors
red ribbon
bead chain or wrapping cord, 3 wraps of the cone
2 x 2.5cm (1 inch) foil-wrapped gifts (foam and colored wrapping paper and tie)
piece of thick cardboard (I use a cereal box) or thin plywood at least as long as the driftwood piece and wider than the driftwood and large cone combined.
scissors
white glue or tacky glue

1 piece of driftwood 25cm-30cm (10-12) inches long (interesting shape)
1 large 15cm-20cm (6-8 inch) Pine Cone
5-7 small and medium pine cones
20 partially developed acorns

Step 1
Gather the materials that you are thinking of using. This was before I thought of adding an acorn elf to the scene.

Tip:
I use a plastic mug to put the glue sticks in. It makes it much easier to grab one to put it in the glue gun. 

Step 2

Cut off the base of the small cone and remove the base scales to leave the "star" at the top with a bit of a stem to attach to the top of the large cone- the "tree". Paint it yellow. 
Remove the base of one or more of the medium cones and remove the lower scales so a stem is left. 
Paint the smaller cones the shrubs. Let dry.
Paint the white underdeveloped acorns. They become the "bells" on the tree. Let dry.

Step 3
Start decorating the tree. 
Start by draping the garland around the tree and glue to the tips of the cone scales. Glue the yellow "star" on the top of the tree.

Tip:
If you want a bleached effect for the bells, dilute the paint with 1:1 water to paint. If you want whiter bells, use the paint straight out of the bottle and do 2 coats. Wait until the first coat is dry to paint on the second one.

Step 4
Experiment in arranging the driftwood, big cone, smaller cones and gift in several different ways to find something that appeals to you. Here are several trials, pictures are from above. 

This arrangement is the one that I started to think of adding a little person into the scene. He could sit near the gift on the end of the log.

Step 5
With the tree in it's place next to the driftwood, add the rest of the decorations. 

Use the red ribbon to cut out about 10 tiny bows and bow tails. 
Glue them together.
Glue the red bows and white bells on the tree. Arrange them around the tree so they can be seen from all angles, especially if the piece if to be in the middle of a table.

Step 6
Place the driftwood, shrubs, large pine cone and gift on a piece of cardboard. Trace around the outer edge allowing some extra space around the front edge. This will form the base of the centre piece that everything will be attached to. 

Add an extra shape near the spots where you plan to add your smaller cones as shrubs (A), gift (B) and your acorn elf sitting or standing (C).

Cut out the shape you traced and paint the base white. Let dry. This may take several hours and the cardboard may warp while drying. Not to worry, once dry it will flatten and the driftwood and tree will help to flatten it further. 

Step 7
Use the white glue or tacky glue to attach the driftwood, large pine cone, small cones and gift to the painted cardboard. 

Step 8
Glue the pre-made acorn elf in his spot on the driftwood. 
Earlier in the day, I was inspired by this acorn elf designed by Dubanchi. Here's a link to his story. It totally relates to what we are doing on my blog!  I happened to have all the materials handy so I made one! It is almost identical to the one he made, except I used seeds from an azalea for eyes. I later found some really tiny underdeveloped acorns like he used in my acorn collection. I didn't want to risk breaking my elf, so I stuck with my azalea eyes. Isn't he cute?

Step 9 (Optional)
Paint white on the driftwood to depict snow. 

Step 10

Set aside in a flat safe place for the white glue to dry at least 24 hours. The white glue will dry either white or clear. Either works for the snowy scene!

Tip:
This is a delicate piece that needs to be in a place where it will not be knocked when stored. Otherwise the bells and bows will fall off. 
During the non-Christmas season, it needs to be stored in a box in a safe place or in a display cabinet.

Enjoy!