Marble Cone Tree

I love cone trees. There are so many different kinds out there on the internet.  I'm always looking around to see what inspires me to craft.  I've been looking at some on the Neiman Marcus web site, admiring their design and pattern.

These cone trees are bands of jingle bells intermingled with small silvery ornaments.  How beautiful is this?  However, after checking on the cost of buying a lot of jingle bells and small ornaments, I can see why they sell the 24 inch tree for $120.00!   I've been thinking about trying to make a tree like this for quite a while.  I just couldn't justify spending that kind of money buying jingle bells for a craft project. Even the dollar store wouldn't solve this dilemma.

A light bulb went off when I thought about the assorted purple decorative filler marbles I had accumulated in hopes of doing something with them. Instead of jingle bells, I would use filler marbles.

I began wrapping a 24 inch styrofoam cone with sisal rope.  I hot glued the top and every few rows or so.

 I used approximately two 50' rolls (I had a little left over on the second roll)

Next, I wrapped a plain purple ribbon around the sisal wrapped cone tree.  I did this as a guide to add the different sizes of flat marbles and also for the decorative fillers to look like "bands of marbles."

I started hot gluing the marbles to the ribbon .   .   . staggering them as I glued.

The detail of the marbles is quite striking!  Adding texture along the way!

I love the way this turned out!  Very festive and quirky!

 And, it can remain as a decorative accent all year long!

 Merry Christmas to All! 



Take a little time to enjoy this holiday season! Will see you in the new year!

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Felt Christmas Stacking Tree

Want to bring some whimsy to your holiday decor? Check out this felt christmas stacking tree!  It's easy to create and will put you in the holiday spirit in no time! In fact, you'll probably want to make several and have a forest of these cute little stacking trees especially since Christmas villages are so trendy right now!

I found a pattern to use as a template to make my layers for the stacking tree from here. I copied it in word and was able to adjust the size. I tried making a template you can download for this tutorial but was unsuccessful. (I'm still learning)

I printed out five pages of this pattern and divided it into five sections or layers.  I cut one layer from each page and trimmed the bottom edge with freehand scallops.

I placed the layers on a 12x12 piece of wool felt I got at Michaels.  Unlike crafting felt, wool felt is nice and thick. Unfortunately, Michaels had only one green square left.  All the pieces will fit on the square fabric if you lay the patterns on the straight edges of the wool felt.

After cutting out the layers, fold each layer in half with right sides together, matching edges and scallops. Whip stitch along edge with a needle and thread.

Turn inside out.  You might need to use a pencil point to push the felt out at the top.

 Repeat the process for the remaining four layers.

The little tree layers will stand on their own.

 At this point, you can stack them on top of each other, starting with the largest on the bottom, lining up the seams in the back.  You can add glue to the tops for a more permanent hold. If you do, make sure to glue separately and use a pencil point to push the tops into the next layer.

I decorated the scallops with silver glitter glue.  The wool felt christmas stacking tree is strong enough to stand alone, as a cute holiday display.

 

Or you might want to go one step further and add a tree "trunk" and base. 

I found a twig in the yard and glued it in a piece of styrofoam .  .   .

added some snow and trim. Ta Da!   Makes for a lovely wintery theme!

I hope you liked my Felt Christmas Stacking Tree!  Very whimsical and easy to make!


Take a little time to enjoy! Happy Holidays!

Christmas Mug Swap

     I'm what's called a "Newbie" to blogging.  I love blogging about my crafting and have met some wonderful people out in Blogland.  The blogging community is an awesome group!  So creative and lovable.  I came across a post by my friend Danni, whom I found through blogging. When she sees something she likes, she becomes the biggest cheerleader for that cause.  Through her posting, Danni convinced me to participate in the Christmas Mug Swap sponsored by Heather @ Heatherly Loves.  As a newbie, this is a great way to meet other bloggers and share interests.  I found the nicest person, Sandra @ Beneath this Roof, Within these Walls  who received the mug that I sent out.  After getting my mug, Sandra sent me a lovely email about herself and I realized we have a lot in common. We now follow one another and share emails from time to time.

I was so excited when the mail lady rang the doorbell and had my "mug package" in her arms.  It was so cutely decorated!

(addresses covered)

Inside, not one, but TWO mugs!  Kim@solaceamidthechaos.blogspot.com really went overboard in her selections.  

How beautiful!  The mugs, one thermal for traveling, and the other, for home, are hand painted ceramic, embossed snowflakes by St. Nicholas Square.

There was also a very nice note saying she hoped I enjoy the mugs and how  she loved them so much that she wanted a set, too. How adorable!

I hadn't seen Kim's blog before and immediately checked it out. She doesn't blog often, but she has some wonderful posts. She does some amazing flowers with duct tape, so please give her a visit. I am now following her!

I'm so glad to meet you, Kim, and thank you again for the beautiful mugs. 

Iced Glittered Trees

I love making decorative cone trees!  And I love the effect you get using  decorative fillers found at Michaels.   I recently found a different type of decorative filler. One that is basically small pieces of broken mirrors.  I was looking for the iced crystal type  - you know, the kind that you use to get the iced branches look.  The store I was in didn't have that, but they did have what looked like crushed mirrors.  The checkout lady asked me what I plan on doing with it and all I could say was I plan on using it in a craft project.  She said they looked dangerous.  Well, yeah. They are broken pieces of glass.  You have to be careful in using it.  I was at a Christmas store in Myrtle Beach back in October and saw the neatest cone trees.  The store didn't allow pictures, but I snapped some anyway. Sneaky me!

The trees were made on a base of cardboard, glitter and
crushed crystals. And, I believe, the one in the picture was nearly thirty dollars.
                                                    
I fell in love with the look and knew I would try to make something similar.  I gathered crushed mirrors, purple metallic paint, purple glitter, white glitter, mod podge and paper mache cone trees.

 

  First, I painted the cone trees metallic purple. 

Working over an old sheet pan, I painted mod podge on the lower half and sprinkled purple glitter and let dry. After the glitter dried I scooped up the excess glitter and put it back in the bottle.

After mixing the filler with mod podge in a little cup (a small amount at a time), I had to add it to the cone (laying on its' side) one area at a time in order for it to adhere without falling off. (area should dry in a few hours) I added more mixture after each area dried until the entire top portion was covered. *note - if you have any mixture left after placing on cone to dry, put in a ziploc bag to prevent drying out until needed.                                             

For added sparkle, I sprinkled white glitter on the mod podge mix before it dried.

                               I love the way the trees turned out!   

                       I placed them on top of glass candle holders.

 They really blend in beautifully with all of my holiday decor  .   .   .   .

    A Winter Wonderland!

                                   Take a little time to enjoy!

Gail