pine cone mobile with a creepy crawly twist!

Want to know how to turn a pretty basket of pine cones and twigs...

...into a cluster of creepy, crawly spiders?

You'll need a craft book with directions for making mobiles, and a cat. Or a small child. Anything that will insist on getting in front of the camera, really.

The Complete Encyclopedia of Crafts. © Marshall Cavendish Limited, 1975

Gather your supplies...

* pine cones * thin branches * garden clippers * thread * scissors * glue * patience

...and get started!

1. If your pine cones aren't fully open, bake them on super-low heat. Remember to keep a close eye on them, and never-ever-ever leave them unattended! Never ever!

2. Cut the twigs into small pieces. Try to snip them so that they have a couple of bends in them. This will make them look more leggy.

3. Plan your pine cone spiders. Pick out 8 twig legs for each pine cone body, making sure they fit snugly between the scales and that they point in the right directions.

4. Glue the legs in place. I used Aleene's Tacky Glue.

5. Tie a length of string to the stem. Put a dab of glue on the knot to make it sure it stays put.

6. Assemble the mobile! You can follow the directions word for word, or just kinda wing it like I did. Did you happen to notice the extra support strings between the top and bottom branches? They were needed to make the bottom branch stay in the position that I wanted. So yeah, things like that might happen if you wing it! I think it turned out pretty awesome all the same though. What do you think?

I joined the Terrorific Tuesday Blog Hop over at The Swell Life!