Craft botanical toppers for holiday gifts

One of the best parts of the holidays are the seasonal scents—mulling spices, evergreens, gingerbread, peppermint... Why not add the extra dimension of fragrance to gift giving with this aromatic botanical gift topper? A pinecone combined with cinnamon sticks and a cedar sprig makes this easy-to-assemble decoration not only look beautiful, but also smell like Christmas.

Materials
For each gift topper, you will need the following:

• 1 pinecone
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 1 sprig cedar or other evergreen such as fir or boxwood
• Ribbon 
• Glitter
• Gloss medium, available at art supply stores (or Mod Podge)
• Hot glue

Putting it all together
1. Mix glitter with gloss medium, then paint it over the pine cone’s seed scales. Use less glitter for a subtle sparkle; more for extra glitz. Set aside to dry.

2. Using hot glue, glue the length of two cinnamon sticks together, side by side. (Select sticks that are relatively straight; twisted or crooked sticks are harder to align.) Glue the sprig of cedar to the backs of the cinnamon sticks. Before doing this, play with the placement of the greenery to get the look you like. Let glue set.

3. Tie a knot in the ribbon then cut the tails at a 45-degree angle so each is approximately 2 inches long.

4. Glue the ribbon to the front of the cinnamon-cedar piece with hot glue. Then glue the base of the pinecone to the cinnamon just above the knot, covering as much of the knot as possible.

5. Wrap your present with complementary paper and, if you like, ribbon. Attach the topper to the gift with hot glue.

Project tips

• The impact of this botanical embellishment may be high class, but making it is low effort. It should take less than 10 minutes to complete, but things will go even faster if you put together several toppers at a time in assembly-line fashion. For example, do all your gluing of pairs of cinnamon sticks for several toppers, then add the cedar sprigs to each, and so on.
• Greenery is always nicer fresh, but because it holds its shape when dried, you can make this gift embellishment days in advance of exchanging presents.
• We used glitter mixed with gloss medium to add sparkle to our pinecone, but glitter paint or even sparkly nail polish will work. To coat the cone completely in sparkle, paint the pinecone with white glue then sprinkle it with glitter, shaking off any excess. If you prefer a more natural look, forgo the glitter completely.
• For our topper, we used 1”-wide ribbon; a thinner or thicker width will give you a different look.

A former design editor with a fine arts degree, Corinna provides creative gift wrapping and packaging services in Toronto. She also writes articles about gift wrapping for some of Canada’s leading national magazines, including Canadian Living, Style at Home and Best Health. Visit her website  for more about her gift wrapping services and workshops, and to read her blog Corinna Wraps.

 

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