“Hedgehugs and the Hattiepillar” by Steve Winson and Lucy Tapper
This book is every bit as darling as the cover suggests and is the perfect book to herald-in spring. Whether it is actually happening outside our your heart simply yearns for it. (Which is the stage we happen to be in!) It is the story of two friends who discover and befriend a little caterpillar that they fondly care for and observe.
They notice their friend eats an awful lot and then it creates a covering for itself where it stays until it emerges as a beautiful butterfly. Horace and Hattie, the two hedgehogs, are inspired and decide they want to transform into something even more beautiful as well. So they create themselves a covering in a pile of spring flowers and wait. When they emerge, to their ultimate delight, they discover that their plan worked! Beautiful flowers are sticking to their spiky bodies and they are colorful and wonderful. Sooooo cute!
Click here to purchase “Hedgehugs and the Hattiepillar” *affiliate link
DIY Hedgehog Pinecones inspired by the Spring Hedgehugs
I am completely taken with this book and Lucy Tappers darling hedgehogs. Because of this I thought it would be great fun to make some hedgehogs of our own and adorn them in some beautiful “spring blossoms” like the ones in the story. Why not add a little festive decoration? Especially when it made them so happy?! Thus, this craft was born and my little guy and I had so much fun with it. I am so in love with our resulting Horace and Hattie that they are still sitting on top of our fireplace mantle in our living room and I have no plans in the near future of taking them down.
Supplies:
- 2 mid size pinecones
- my “hedgehog” face template printed out, cut out and colored (find it below)
- hot glue gun and glue
- spray adhesive
- glitter in an assortment of spring colors
- flower sequins (these are common in many craft supply stores)
Process:
- Print out my “hedgehug face template”, cut them out, then fold them along the center where the two noses meet.
- Find a place in your pinecone near the top of the narrow end where you can slip in the face. You can just slip it in and leave it if it stays snug. I decided to hot glue it to the pinecone for my child to make sure that it was secure. (optional: I cut out a little flower out of red and white craft paper and glued it to one of the hedgehogs to resemble Hattie better)
- Spray your chosen adhesive over the back of your pinecone and when it is tacky (after a few seconds usually) sprinkle some glitter over your pinecone. Be sure to use a spray adhesive that is safe for children and read the safety label. You may want to just do the spraying yourself which is what I chose to do.
- After the glitter sprinkle the sequin flowers over the top and wait for it all to dry. Then your done!
My toddler was just as delighted by their spring transformation as I was. Seriously though, aren’t they cuties? If you give this Beyond the Book activity a try I’d love to hear how it goes! Share it on Instagram using hashtag #beyondthebook (I’m on Instagram as @book.nerd.mommy) or even just comment here with your thoughts. It would make my day! Or to simply save for later pin the image below.
book that celebrates Spring) with tutorial and FREE PRINTABLE.
Printables free for personal and noncommercial use only:
Leave a Reply