Celebrate Valentine’s Day with these simple Pine Cone Love Bugs! We love pine cone crafts and these adorable love bugs are a cute craft to make with them for Valentine’s Day! Grab some pine cones from your craft stash, or go on a nature walk around your neighborhood to collect some new ones.
These are such a fun Valentine’s Day craft to make with kids – if they make enough of them, they can hand them out as Valentines for friends and loved ones!
We kept these love bugs blank, but you could write a little note on their wings or even glue the whole love bug onto a small piece of cardstock and write the note on there. Here are a few ideas for phrases to write on them:
- “Valentine, you make my heart flutter!”
- “Happy Valentine’s Day, Love Bug!”
- “Bugs and Kisses to you, Valentine!”
- “Valentine, you’re so fly!”
Supplies Needed
- Pine cones – 1 per lovebug, see notes below
- Wood beads – 1″ diameter, 1 per love bug
- Colorful paper – in shades of pink and red
- Googly eyes – 3/8″ in size, 2 per lovebug
- Pipe cleaners – in shades of pink and red
- Hot glue gun – used with adult assistance
- Tacky or white glue
- Scissors
- Paint – in shades of pink and red
- Paintbrushes – medium-sized
- Black permanent marker
- Pencil – for tracing the templates onto paper
- Free printable wing templates – found at the bottom of the post
Note
If using pine cones collected from outside, be sure that they are dry and ready to use. It can be helpful to bake the pine cones in the oven at 250 degrees Fahrenheit for 10-20 minutes on a parchment or foil-lined baking sheet (adults only). This will help speed the drying process and make sure there aren’t any bugs in the pine cones. Keep a close eye on them in the oven and let them cool completely before crafting.
Watch the Video Tutorial!
How to Make Pine Cone Lovebugs
1. Assemble the love bug bodies.
Use a hot glue gun to attach a wood bead to the top of the pine cone (with adult assistance), holding in place as it dries.
Apply a coat of paint over the entire body, both the bead and the pine cone, and set aside to dry completely.
2. Make the wings.
Download and print out the free printable wing template found at the bottom of the post. Cut them out, trace them onto colored paper, and cut out the colorful wings.
Glue the paper wings to the back of the pine cone body. We used hot glue but you can also use a tacky glue and give it enough time to dry.
3. Make the antenna.
Cut a 2″ piece of pipe cleaner and bend in half, forming a V.
Hot glue (with adult assistance) the pipe cleaner into the hole of the wooden bead, forming the love bug’s antenna.
4. Make the faces.
Glue the 2 googly eyes onto each wood bead. You can also draw on the eyes with a black marker by making two small dots.
Then use a black permanent marker to draw on a mouth.
Finally, use the end of a paintbrush to paint on pale pink dots below the eyes to look like rosy cheeks.
Your pine cone love bugs are ready for Valentine’s Day!
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