Make Your Own: Pine Cone Penguins

by Emma Louise Oldham December 07, 2018

Make Your Own: Pine Cone Penguins

These cute little creations will make wonderful decorations for your Christmas tree. Or why not make them as a present for a friend? They are completely plastic-free and full of character!


What you need:

  • Pine cones
  • One-inch wooden beads for the head (we up-cycled some orange ones from an old necklace)
  • Black and yellow felt (small pieces
  • Paintbrush
  • Black and white craft paint
  • Glue gun and glue
  • Scissors
  • String/twine
  • Newspaper/sheet (to cover your work surface)

    What to do:

    Step 1:Cover your workspace.  Paint the tips of your pine cones white. Leave to dry.


    Step 2: Paint your wooden beads white. Allow them to dry. They will need at least two coats.


    Step 3: Cut out some wings from the black felt. With help from an adult, use your glue gun to glue them to the sides of each pine cone.


    Step 4: Cut out some feet from the yellow felt. Glue these to the base of each pine cone.


    Step 5: Thread a piece of twine through each bead and secure the end with a large knot.


    Step 6: Use your black paint to draw each penguin’s head and eyes. For the eyes,
    it’s easiest to use the end of a very thin paintbrush to dab them on. Wait for
    the paint to dry.


    Step 7: Glue each bead to a pine cone. Cut out a small yellow triangle for each penguin’s beak, and glue it to the centre of a wooden bead. Ta-da! You’ve made your festive penguins!


    Leave a comment

    Comments will be approved before showing up.


    In other Eco Kids Planet News

    Capuchin Monkey by Laila, age 7, Staten Island – Animal top trumps entry competition winner
    Monthly competition: animal showdown card

    by Eco Kids Planet September 09, 2026

    You've been designing brilliant new contenders for the Astonishing Amazon Animal Showdown – piranhas with jaws that regrow in whole quarters, a hoatzin that ferments its dinner in a throat pouch, a tailless whip scorpion that senses danger through its legs, and a jaguar with one of the most powerful bites of any mammal. Thank you to every reader who did the research and made the case for their champion.

    My Island by Amanda, age 7, Peterborough – Wild Island diary entry competition winner
    Monthly competition: wild island diary entry

    by Eco Kids Planet July 08, 2026

    You've been sending us some extraordinary diary entries – full of ingenuity, wild imagination and genuine nature knowledge. Your islands were home to winged badgers, injured wolves, mysterious felines and ring-tailed lemurs. Meet our four winners!
    Monthly competition: The secret egg challenge
    Monthly competition: the secret egg challenge

    by Eco Kids Planet June 02, 2026

    This competition asked you to design a secret egg hidden somewhere in nature, and your entries went far beyond the obvious nests and burrows. Eggs arrived disguised as pine cones, floating on leaf boats, perched on volcano ledges, tucked into cloud cover and even masquerading as chocolate Easter eggs to fool foxes. Thank you to every reader who took up the challenge and thought like a parent bird, fish, reptile or imaginary creature trying to keep their precious egg safe.