Whether you are looking for a cute animal craft or want something to celebrate fall, you will love this adorable pinecone hedgehog. Using an upcycled plastic bottle, this is a simple fall craft for kids and adults. It's ideal for making something rustic and cute to add to your fall decor or even to your Thanksgiving table! Gather up the fallen pinecones and save a bottle from the recycling bin to get started creating this adorable little addition to your fall decor.

Pinecone Hedgehog with Upcycled Plastic Bottle

I'm a huge fan of rustic decorations. Plus, I also adore recycling and upcycling. So, making a little hedgehog out of upcycled materials just makes sense. With this project, I could combine the two and create a look that is ideal for use at any time of year, but especially in the fall.

When I am looking for crafting ideas, I like to keep things in mind that can be made with my kids or could be shared here to help others with their creativity. Adding this to your plans for fall crafts or a weekend project with the kids is a great idea! It's ideal for teaching them all about gathering things like pine cones outside but also about hedgehogs. For younger children, you can use this printable kids hedgehog craft. Or, for yourself, you could whip up this old book paper hedgehog. So many cute ideas!

Where Can I Get Pinecones?

I just step outside to my backyard and have a ton of pinecones at my fingertips. That isn't the case for everyone, so I understand if you aren't sure where to find them. The first place I would go is to look around your community and neighborhood for any area that has pine trees. If you have them locally, you may be able to go gather a few pinecones easily. Of course, if doing that, you need to make sure the property owners (if private property), give you permission.

Another option is to put out a request in your local Facebook marketplace or in local trade groups asking for pine cones. A lot of people are happy to have you come clean up the fallen pinecones. Lastly, of course, is buying them from a retailer. Most hobby and craft stores will have pinecones around the holidays. Sometimes they are cinnamon-scented but you can also find them plain on Etsy and even sometimes at your local Dollar Tree store.

Can I Add Legs to the Hedgehog?

Typically, when a hedgehog is running around, you won't really see his legs. So, you might not really need to add them to this one, but if you want to, you can. Below are a few cute ideas that would easily work for adding legs to your hedgehog.

Cut a few small twigs or branches to glue onto the bottom of the bottle.
Paint stones brown or tan and glues in place on the bottom of the bottle.
Use wine corks cut in half and glued to the bottom of the bottle.
Stack buttons in brown and tan colors together and glue into a stack to use as legs under the bottle.

How do I Attach the Pinecones?

I used hot glue when attaching mine to the plastic bottle. This is my favorite method because it's so easy and it holds up so well. That said, hot glue isn't as safe to use with children underfoot, so you can use an alternative.

Wood glue, E6000 craft glue, or even a tacky craft glue are all options that work well to hold the pinecones onto the plastic bottle. You will want to use something stronger than basic white school glue, however, because it will not hold the pinecones in place very well or for long.

Supplies Needed

How to Make a Pinecone Hedgehog

Remove the label from an empty plastic bottle.

Paint the bottle cap black and set aside to dry.

Spray paint the bottle orange then set aside to dry.

When the bottle and cap are dry, add the cap back to the bottle.

Glue pinecones all around the bottle top and side.

Add the pinecones so their base is glued flat against the bottle and the pointy end is facing upward.

Leave the cap end of the bottle and neck empty. This will be the hedgehog face.

Glue googly eyes onto the open end of the bottle.

Add eyebrows using a black marker.

Now you can display your hedgehog for fall or Thanksgiving!

More Fall Craft Ideas

Fall is one of, if not my all-time, favorite time of the year to create. There are so many great ways you can decorate your home. Plus, you can use many of these craft ideas for more than one holiday! Both Halloween and Thanksgiving can be so much fun to create for, and these fit both holidays in this season. Check out all of these ideas to add to your crafting project list.

Crafting Tip

If you can't find pinecones locally, you can pick up batches of pinecones on Etsy in large lots. This helps support a small business and provides you with what you need to create amazing projects!

Yield: 1

Plastic Bottle Pinecone Hedgehog Decoration

Create a cute little woodland creature with this simple rustic pinecone hedgehog using an upcycled plastic bottle!

Active Time 15 minutes

Additional Time 15 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

Difficulty Easy

Estimated Cost $2

Materials

Tools

Instructions

Remove the label from an empty plastic bottle.
Paint the bottle cap black and set aside to dry.
Spray paint the bottle orange then set aside to dry.
Glue pinecones all around the bottle top and side.
Add the pinecones so their base is glued flat against the bottle and the pointy end is facing upward.
Leave the cap end of the bottle and neck empty. This will be the hedgehog face.
Glue googly eyes onto the open end of the bottle.
Add eyebrows using black marker.
Now you can display your hedgehog for fall or Thanksgiving!