Gifts from the Hearts and Hands of Your Students

• six-inch Styrofoam™ cone (available in craft stores and Wal-Mart), one for each tree
• approximately 50 long green pipe cleaners per tree
• approximately 200 tri-beads per tree (any kind of medium-size bead will do but tri-beads, with three points, provide more shimmer; I use beads from The Beadery®)
• yellow cardstock
• craft glue
• standard-size scissors (child scissors will not be sharp enough)

Procedure

1. Cut each pipe cleaner into fourths. Be sure to caution the students about the ends of the pipe cleaner after cutting; the ends can be somewhat sharp.
2. Thread one tri-bead onto each pipe cleaner section.
3. Fold each pipe cleaner section in half with tri-bead at the fold (creating a decorated “tree branch”)
4. Starting at the base of the cone, gently insert the two tips of each tree branch about halfway into the cone, moving upward until the entire cone is covered. (Hint: Be careful to insert the tree branches at a downward angle as you near the top of the cone. This helps eliminate the possibility of the top of the tree breaking off.)
5. From yellow cardstock, cut out a shape to serve as the ornament for the top of the tree. (I simply trace around a star cookie cutter.)
6. Repeat 5 so that you have two identical shapes.
7. Sandwich a pipe cleaner section between the shapes, leaving a small portion sticking out from the bottom, and glue the shapes together.
8. Gently insert tree-topper ornament into the top of the cone.