Magical Herbal Tree Fairies: An Easy Pinecone Craft for Cozy Fantasy Lovers

Many fictional worlds are built within the mystique of a beautiful or sometimes sinister forest. Often the forests are filled with trees towering providing shelter, peace, and resources to adventurers.

While most of us know that acorns, pinecones and needles, and some fruits come from trees, did you know that many of our sweet, warming culinary herbs also come from trees?

All these herbs are born from trees:
Cinnamon
Cloves
Allspice
Star anise 

Also…
Elderberry
Hawthorn berry
Bay laurel
Eucalyptus
Willow
… and more! 

These magical crafted tree fairies are a whimsical, cute way to honor the noble tree and some of the useful, beautiful items that come from trees. They are also fun to make with kids while exploring all that trees have to offer. Find tips below for making these with kiddos. 

Make Your Own Herbal Tree Fairy

Materials

Pinecones 
Wing materials: pine branch tips, beautiful autumn leaves, bay leaves, dried citrus slices 
Acorn caps
Cinnamon sticks
Star anise
Elderberries 
More herbs for accessories: cloves, allspice berries, hawthorn berries (optional)
Wooden beads for the head (tip: take an acorn cap to the craft store with you to size it to the head) 
Chenille stems
Embroidery floss for hair
Hot glue gun with glue sticks
Pencil, pen, or marker (optional)

Instructions

Head, Hair and Arms:
Choose a chenille stem for your fairy’s arms and embroidery floss for the hair. Wrap the floss around your fingers to form a large loop of floss, going around many times. Go around more fingers to make longer hair and fewer fingers for shorter hair.

Bend the chenille stem in half around the loop of embroidery floss. You can either bend the stem around the middle of the floss or closer to one end of the floss bundle which will create longer hair and potentially little bangs!

Hair Style:
At this point you can take some time to style your fairy's hair if you wish. You can cut the loops of the embroidery floss to create loose hair ends. and you can give your fairy a braid, ponytail or even a hair cut! Next, glue a little acorn cap atop your fairy's head. Or you can create a crown with a large star anise. 

Face: 
Choose two elderberries of about the same size and carefully glue them to your fairy’s face. You can also draw on a nose and mouth if you wish. 

Attaching the Head to the Body:
Once you have bent the stem around the floss, simply thread both ends of the chenille stem through the wooden bead. Now you have the hair at the top of the head and the two ends of the chenille stem will create the arms.

The Body:
Now it is time to attach your fairy’s head to the body which is made from a pinecone. Position the fairy’s arms to the side or out in front of the fairy. Then, using your hot glue gun, glue your fairy’s head and arms to the bottom or top of your pinecone—the choice is up to you. 

Wings and Accessories:
Pick two (or more) of your loveliest fairy wings from the options mentioned above, and attach them to the back of the pinecone using hot glue. 

Next, take some time to give your fairy accessories. An upside down acorn cap can become a basket, a cinnamon stick can become a staff or a wand, a star anise can be a beautiful flower to carry.

Sourcing Your Materials

Autumn is a wonderful time to create these fairies. Where I live in Colorado, I am able to find many of the materials I need on the ground in my neighborhood which makes it so that nothing is taken from a tree directly. The little pine boughs we used for wings were strewn beneath trees from squirrel nibbling, along with plenty of pinecones. Acorn caps and Autumn leaves are also abundant. And we sourced our herbs from our local apothecary and grocery stores! 

Tips For Making Herbal Tree Fairies With Kids

This project is fun for little kids and big kids alike! Once upon a time, I had the joy of sharing herbs with preschool kiddos. We had a blast studying trees and making this craft together. Little children will need lots of help with each step. An adult should do the hot gluing. Be mindful that some of the components of the fairy could be a choking hazard as well, so please supervise during crafting and playtime with the fairy. Little ones can draw a fae on their fairy in place of elderberries that may come loose easily. Older kids can make these fairies all by themselves once they know the steps and are safe using the glue gun. 

When I made this with the preschoolers, they imagined their cinnamon sticks to be wands, brooms, and even a flute. If you are helping a small child, have them show you where they want the wings and accessories attached. 

Now that your fairy is done, you might consider placing your fairy somewhere special or hanging your fairy friend in a window. Herbal tree fairies are lovely hanging on a Christmas tree or as a gift. Kiddos can enjoy playing with their fairy friend if they wish!

Wishing you lots of magic fairy fun!