"He who has not Christmas in his heart will never find it under a tree." ~Roy L. Smith
I decided to take a moment to review some of the Christmas craft projects from last year to see if they sparked any new and exciting ideas and I thought I would share the Paper Christmas Tree again since it was such a hit last year. If you decide to make it please send pics to inspiremecrafts@yahoo.com! I'd love to share all the various versions with the readers!
Here's what you need:
-Favorite patterned paper (I chose 5 different ones)
-Tree shaped craft Styrofoam (find in floral section of craft store)
-Scissors, glue (I used glue gun), ruler, pencil
-Stick (smooth and rounded) Can find at craft store. Size depends on Styrofoam
-Ribbon and other embellishments (optional)
-Spray Glitter (optional)
-Terra cotta pot (optional)
-Small piece of craft styrophoam to put in terra cotta pot (optional)
-Glass marbles (optional)
Now the To Do's:
1. I used 8x8 scrapbook paper since my Styrofoam base was relatively small (around 5 inches tall). I measured and cut it into 2cm wide strips. I then cut the 2cm wide strips into thirds. You can adjust the width and length depending on what size styrophoam you choose. The bigger you go the bigger strips you'll want otherwise this will truly turn out to be a loooonnng project. The is the part that takes awhile so if you have kids who are old enough to cut and measure....for goodness sakes get them to work!
2. Take a cut strip and attach the ends together with glue. Don't fold it though...you want to keep the other end rounded.
3.Attach the glued ends to the Styrofoam with glue. Start at the bottom. Continue this all the way around. When you finish one layer move up and start on the next level. Indent where you start on each new level. A few tips: If you have more than one child helping you on this it would go extremely quickly if you have one gluing the ends together and then the other gluing the finished piece to the Styrofoam. Next tip: I layed out my 5 different cut papers in piles and lined them up in the order I wanted to attach them. For the most part I used that same pattern. However, sometimes I came across areas that had too much red or too much green so I did change it up a bit when needed. So go with what your eye tells you. If it doesn't look right...change it up.
4. Attach any embellishments. For example, I added a star to the top along with ribbon hanging down. I also used a star punch and red scrapbook paper to make "star ornaments" that I glued to the tree. At the end...spray the tree with some spray glitter to give it that extra ummphh.
5. You could call it quits here and your paper tree would still 'wow' everyone as a unique Christmas decoration. But if you want to do it like the picture I show then keep going.....
6. Take a stick and stab it into the bottom of the tree. I put a little glue around it with the glue gun to make sure it wasn't going anywhere. Confession: The stick I had was too short. Being lazy and not wanting to go to the craft store again I started looking around the house. I had a red colored pencil. So I took it and used it. It worked out great and I didn't have to paint it or anything!
7. Put the small piece of Styrofoam into the terra cotta pot. Take the other end of the colored pencil and stab it into the terra cotta Styrofoam. I once again used the glue gun to make sure it wasn't going anywhere.
8. Take some glass beads/marbles and put them around the "trunk" of the tree and to cover up the Styrofoam. You could also use fake snow if you wanted to.
9. I added a large red ribbon to the terra cotta pot. If you choose to paint or decorate the pot any other way it would probably be easier to do before step 6.
Well....there you have it. It really is a fun Christmas craft project and rewarding when you finish. And who says you have to use red and green? Use the colors that go with your Christmas home decor and get creative. Instead of paper star cutouts for ornaments why not use some buttons? You always get those extra buttons with your clothes...so put them to use!
Anyway, I enjoyed sharing this with you and will be bringing some more.
Be inspired, get creative, and have fun!
