12 Projects: Mini Trees

Everyone loves mini things, right?  I know I do.  For today's project I decided to make a bunch of mini Christmas trees to add to my holiday decor.  I decided to make two types of trees: pine cone trees, due to the sheer number of pine trees in my town, and some simple cone shaped trees out of cardboard.

Supplies:

Pine cones! I ended up finding three different kinds. I love the giant ones.

Fabric scraps.  I ended up using scraps from the pillow project and my Halloween costume

thin cardboard: I used recycled boxes

ribbon/sparkly trim

pom poms

glitter

glue

tape

paint

cone pattern

Cut out your pattern and trace it on to your cardboard. You can also print the pattern out directly onto card stock and use that as the base.  

 

 Fold over the tab on one side.  If you put tape on the inside of the tab facing out, it will make it easier to tape the cone closed.   Depending on the thickness of the cardboard, you may have to coax it in to the cone shape.

Cones!

I laid the pattern out on my fabric and cut around it to get the general shape.  This allowed me to center the cables, and is useful for any fabric with a directional design.

I smeared tacky glue all over the center of the cone and lined it up on my fabric.

I glued the fabric one third at a time, so i could keep the cables lined up and pull the fabric tight.

If you have binder clips or clothespins, you can use them to hold the fabric closed while the glue dries.  I didn't have either, so I just used more tape. I used double-sided tape to hold the fabric down on the inside, but you can just trim the fabric to meet the bottom of the cone.

On one of the cones, I laid out lines of double sided tape and wrapped it with this tinsel gift ribbon. You could do this with any kind of ribbon or trim, and this version is super easy!

My cone trees!

The pine cones were super simple!

This large one was decorated with little pompoms, attached with, you guessed it, tacky glue. 

The other big cone was painted with glue and sprinkled with the big red and gold glitter.

Just like the big glitter cone, the two white cones were painted with glue but this time sprinkled with leftover epsom salt from the last project.  I painted the edges of two of the smaller cones with gold and green paint.

My collection of mini trees really helped to round out my bartop display!  You can also see my hurricane snowstorms in their final resting place. The sparkly trees reflect the white lights really nicely!

You can easily make both of these projects your own.  They lend themselves to all kinds of creative embellishment.  You can easily make the cones bigger and smaller to fit your decor.

Are you guys decorating for the holidays?  Have you tried any of my ideas?  Let me know!  Drop me a link to your projects!

Missed something? Check out the rest of the 12 Projects of Christmas!

12 Projects: Hurricane Snowstorms

Hello! Today's project is a pretty simple one, and you could do this yourself using only dollar store items!  I made these little hurricane glasses a few months ago using candle holders and vases from Dollar Tree, glued together with E6000.  I thought I would set up a few little snowy scenes to add to my winter decor, without creating an elaborate christmas village.  This craft also keeps my snow contained, which is great when you have pets (or children!).  You could do this using your own hurricanes, vases, apothecary jars, or just recycled food jars!

Supplies:  

Hurricane glasses

Holiday ribbon 

Little trees (bought on clearance after last Christmas)

Holiday village miniatures (3 pack from Dollar Tree)

Epsom salt

double sided tape (not pictured)

First, I set up little scenes in each of the glasses.  I don't want my arrangements to be permanent, so I didn't use any glue to hold them down.  If you have decorative items that aren't staying put, you could always use poster putty to get them to stay put temporarily. 

Once I was happy with my scenes, I poured some epsom salt in each glass, directly over top of my trees and people.  This would be great for kids, and it was actually a lot of fun making it "snow" in each glass.  I poured in enough to cover the bases of the figurines.  

Because I poured the salt right on top, it stuck in some of the tree branches like snow.  I love this look.  

I cut a few pieces of ribbon to further decorate the jars, and attachedm them to the glass with little bits of double sided tape.  The ribbon sticks to the glass well if you apply a bit of pressure.

I chose the ribbon location based on the shape of each glass. 

They don't all "match", but i think they turned out really cute.  Because the candlestick bases are heavy, i'm not worried about them being tipped over.  But even if they are, the epsom salt will vacuum up easily. 

These scenes are going to be a part of my Christmas bar decorations, which is still a work in progress.  

Have you guys started decorating yet?  Do you set up a giant Christmas village? Do your pets ever attack it like Godzilla?

Getting ready to host a big holiday party?  Kristi(e) at Ye Olde Fortress of Awesome has started up her 12 projects series with some adorable drink stirrers! 

Hope you are all having a great December!  Keep it merry!

Missed something?  Check out The 12 Projects of Christmas.

12 Projects: Glittery Candles

I love how, in recent years, glitter has become such a big part of Christmas decor.  I've always loved twinkly lights, and some glitter provides a great reflective surface.  For this project, i wanted to try out something i'd been seeing around Pinterest for the last year or two.  I decided to try out making glittery candles.

 One of the popular Pinterest "tricks" is to use double sided tape stuck to the side of the candles to keep the glitter on.  I tried this on one candle.  However, It didn't occur to me that I would have problems getting the double sided tape to sit flat on tapered candles.  Since I didn't want to spent any extra money, I just tried to make it work. 

I used permanent double sided tape and Martha Stewart glitter in yellow gold. 

You can also see that the glitter clings to the wax of the candle.  I had to wipe it off with a paper towel.  Even more mess.  Pinterest lies, this is not a no-mess easy way to make things glittery.  Very messy.  I love the look of the superfine glitter, but it really gets absolutely everywhere.

  

While I was in the midst of getting glitter everywhere, I figured I would try out another popular craft trick: mixing glitter with modge podge.  This was a little more effective...and slightly less messy.  I mixed it together on a plate and painted it on.  

I dipped this candle into the modge podge and rolled it in glitter.  This one turned out super glittery and dense. 

I also used some silver glitter paint I had lying around. I dipped a few of the candles directly into the paint.   I wasnt sure how to dry them, and sadly  the paint stuck slightly to the plate they were resting on and peeled off.

The glittery on these is very thin, not as dense as the other ways.

My favorite candle resulted from mixing some of the loose glitter with the glittery craft paint. I painted it on thick, and tapped the base on the table to encourage the drips.   

 I was miraculously able to get it to stand upright on the table for 24 hours.  I have no idea how the cats didn't knock it over. 

I don't know how burnable these candles will be (the glue, paint and glitter may make some interesting toxic fumes) so I think these will just be for decoration.   I don't have a specific arrangement in mind, so we'll see where they end up.  

Have you tried any Pinterest tricks lately? Wanna check out some other things I've pinned?  Follow my Christmas board on Pinterest! Happy crafting! 

Missed something?  Check out The 12 Projects of Christmas.

12 Projects: Holiday Pillows

For my first project, I decided to dress up my couch for the holidays!  I already have a red couch, so it made a great starting point. I've been planning to do some pillows for everyday, but with Christmas right around the corner, I figured I would go for some with holiday designs first!

These three pillows are made from old sweaters. I cheated a little here, and bought them from a thrift store.The green one is children's, and the other two are adults. I chopped off the top halves, and stitched up the sides.

I cut shapes out of felt and glued them to the sweater pieces with Fabri-Tac. 

After letting them dry, I secured each shape with embroidery thread and a blanket stitch. 

This reindeer is probably my favorite.

 Trees!

I had some sparkly felt in my stash, perfect for tree ornaments. I used a chain stitch for the "strings".            

                             

I also made two pillow covers for my regular couch pillows from an old curtain, painted with silver and glitter paint. It had been sitting in my closet waiting for the right project.  I made two very basic envelope backed pillow covers. You can find directions for making pillow covers here, at Martha Stewart.  

  My painting skills leave a lot to be desired, so I went with a simple snowflake design.  It is definitely not perfect, but the covers turned out pretty cute!

Please forgive my blank wall!

 I hope you enjoyed project number one!  See you later this week!


Missed something?  Check out The 12 Projects of Christmas.