Homemade Pine Cone Print Wrapping Paper

I love when something homemade also turns out beautiful! Our Homemade Pine Cone Print Wrapping Paper turned out so gorgeous that I thought of creating a large frame for it. Thank goodness it also looks fantastic wrapped around our family’s presents adorned with painted pine cones. This project is so simple and adds such a lovely homemade touch to your holiday gifts. Best part? Your children can make the wrapping paper themselves! Why not make our Salt Dough Suncatchers or Handprint Suncatchers and wrap them in beautiful Homemade Pine Cone Print Wrapping Paper!

WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE HOMEMADE PINE CONE PRINT WRAPPING PAPER

This post contains affiliate links for your convenience.

white butcher paper roll
tempera paint (red, blue, yellow)
pine cones
lids or plates to put paint in

AREAS OF DEVELOPMENT ENHANCED BY MAKING HOMEMADE PINE CONE PRINT WRAPPING PAPER

fine motor skills
gross motor skills
language development
creativity
artistic expression
color exploration

HOW TO MAKE HOMEMADE PINE CONE PRINT WRAPPING PAPER

Prior to introducing the activity to your children cut a large piece of paper. We have a long table so I cut the paper the length of the table. If you don’t have a long table this activity would work well on the floor. Set up small amounts of red, yellow and blue paint on container lids (I used jar lids and yogurt container lids) or small plates. If you are working with multiple children have multiple lids of each color. Have a variety of pine cones available for use.

Introduce the activity to your children. “Today we are going to create our own painted wrapping paper, but we are not going to use paint brushes. Today we are going to use pine cones! Let’s explore all the different ways we can dip the pine cone in paint and then put it on our paper!”  Give your child time and space to explore the materials. There is no right way to use the pine cones. Like with all art projects focus on the process of the art rather than the end product. “Luca, look at the way you are dragging the pine cone across the paper. I see blue lines when you do that.” Avoid statements that begin with “I like” or “It looks like a…”, instead focus your observations on what your child is doing. You are aiding language development by giving words to your child’s actions.

Like many of our painting projects my daughters love the sensory experience involved with feeling paint on their hands. It was interesting to see how they rubbed their paint-covered hands on the paper and then used the pine cones on top of the painted paper. Using red, yellow and blue paints allowed for natural color mixing to occur. My daughters delighted in discovering greens, purples and oranges appearing on their paper. We focused these discoveries on observing what colors they used to make other colors appear.

When your children are done creating let the painting dry. Save the paint covered pine cones. You will need them later. Once dry you can use your Homemade Pine Cone Print Wrapping Paper just like regular wrapping paper. Use the paint covered pine cones as a unique adornment. I love how the pine cones added such unique textures to the homemade wrapping paper!

Support Homegrown Friends by sharing this post. Join the fun by following us on Facebook!