Purple Flocked Slim Christmas Tree

Purple is my favorite and signature color! I love using it throughout my home and especially during the holidays! Did you know it's actually one of the colors of Christmas? Purple or violet is considered the main color of Advent as it symbolizes fasting and repentance.  Purple has always been known as the color of royalty, (not that I am, lol). It also symbolizes luxury and a sense of magic or whimsy! 

Imagine my surprise when I saw a purple flocked tree online that wasn't a bright purple!  I had to get one! I looked around and found the best price using a coupon at Bed Bath and Beyond! 

 I'm excited to be participating once again with a great group of creative bloggers  sharing Christmas tree decorating ideas with you. I'm thrilled to be showing you my purple flocked decorated tree this year at the annual Christmas Tree Decor Blog Hop hosted by Michelle @Our Crafty Mom. You can check out my last years' tree here. If you're coming over from the Zucchini Sisters, welcome!

Get ready for purple overload in tree decorating! I'm bringing a royal touch with a bit of whimsy to my home this holiday season by decorating my purple flocked tree in a range of rich purple and lavender hues. Quite different from what I've done in the past!

Since the tree is only 4.5 feet tall, I had to place it on a table located by my sliding patio door. There was a lamp there so it was an easy exchange. However, as you can see, there are a lot of patterns going on with the tree and my drapes hanging close by. In some photos, I pushed the drapes back trying to get the perfect picture!

The purple flocked tree truly is a lovely decorated tree in rich jewel tones starting with the ribbon used throughout in purple and silver metallic.

Purple ornaments proved to be elusive in stores this year.  So I decided to make some of my own. I love how the velvet and crushed glass and pearls ornaments look on the tree. They add an air of softness in lavender velvet. And the purple pearls adds a bit of lavishness to the mix! You can checkout my easy to follow tutorial here. 

For my next group of handcrafted ornaments, you won't believe how I made the sparkling finish using chunky glitter glue! All twenty-four of these cuties add to the overall glistening and whimsy effect! You can find my very easy tutorial here!

Don't you just love how all of these purple hues flow together!

And I love the purple glitter berry and poinsettia stems placed throughout, too!

Instead of a skirt or collar, I placed a few designer wrapped presents around the base of the tree! I really love that look!

When lit, the tree gives off an extra cozy feeling at night!

I hope you enjoyed seeing my decorated purple flocked tree! It truly is 

a one of a kind beauty! 

Up next, is Kirsten @Tribe of Burton sharing her pretty minimalist tree!

More Christmas Tree Decor Ideas:

 

  Be sure to visit all the participating bloggers for decorating inspiration for your Christmas tree...

Our Crafty Mom // Red Cottage Chronicles// From House to Home// Simple Nature Decor

Virginia Sweet Pea// 2 Bees in a Pod// First Day of Home// Across the Boulevard

Simply Beautiful by Angela // Happily Ever After, etc.// Madness and Method// Zucchini Sisters

Purple Hues and Me// Tribe of Burton// My Pinterventures// Modern on Monticello

Jenron Designs// Design Morsels// Oh Fiddle Dee Dee // Redneck Rhapsody

DIY Christmas Appliques Cone Tree

Did you know that I am on the Bowdabra Design Team, and  create lots of bows using the Bowdabra, a bow making tool. So it's a given that I have lots and lots of ribbon. 

A couple of years ago I was sent  lovely four inch wide velvet  adorned with red and green stones set in a applique design from Katherine's Collection of luxury designer ribbon. I don't know if it's still available but I made a gorgeous  bow using the Bowdabra bow tool for a Christmas in July post. And the following December, I put it on my stair bannister. It's a beautiful bow, but the design colors just don't go with my decor, so I tucked it away. Until now.

I hope you won't be upset with what I did with the ribbon, but I cut it apart to make a Christmas Appliques Cone Tree for this month's Do It Over Designers Blog Hop! 'Do It Over' Designers is a group of talented bloggers who love to recycle/upcycle/DIY, hosted by Anne @The Apple Street Cottage. It happens the 4th Saturday of every other month and it's all about taking something old and/or unused and 'doing it over' into something new. Anything from fabric, old dishes, and decor to dressers and hutches. Items found in closets, cabinets, barns, garages, yard sales, thrift stores, you name it!

Before the craft store ACMoore went out of business, I picked up several plastic cone trees for fifty cents apiece. They were in the doll section and was suppose to be a doll's body but I haven't a clue how. I love making all sorts of cone trees like here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here, to name a few! Whew, I should have made a collage, lol!

Anyway, red and green stone appliques would look lovely on a clear plastic cone tree! And it's so easy to do, too!

Material:

• Appliques
• Clear plastic cone tree
• Scissors
• Fabri-Tac Fabric Glue
• Clamps 

 Just cut out the appliques from the velvet and .  .  .

glue them on the plastic cone tree in a pretty design using fabric glue! Use clamps to hold in place while the glue dries. It only takes a minute or two for the glue to take hold.

How easy is this!

What a pretty Christmas design!

To light it up, add a remote control multi-color base light for colorful displays!

I love how the cone tree turned out and will probably donate it when we decorate our community clubhouse! PS: I still have ribbon left over for additional projects!

Be sure to check out all the 'Do It Over Designers' listed below to see their lovely "do overs" too! 

Modern on Monticello

Pandora’s Box

Purple Hues & Me

Southern Sunflowers 

Unique Creations by Anita

My Hubbard Home

Interior Frugalista

The Apple Street Cottage

Birdz of a Feather

Exquisitely Unremarkable

Crushed Glass and Pearls Ornament

  I wish everyone the best and a warm thank you 

as the holiday season begins! 

I love making all kinds of Christmas ornaments! You can checkout a round up of some of my favorites here! For today's Creative Craft Blog Hop,  hosted by Sara @Birdz of a Feather,  have I got a beautiful and elegant handcrafted ornament you will truly love  It's a very simple craft with a beautiful, and I mean BEAUTIFUL finish! In a nut shell, it's  a styrofoam ball wrapped in crushed velvet and covered with crushed glass and faux pearl beads that are splashed with purple alcohol ink. Sounds complicated? Of course not! And the best part, I'm using everything from my stash to make a few.

If you're coming over from Donna @Modern on Monticello, wasn't her wood slice garland too cute and adorable!

To make a crushed glass and pearls ornament, you will need:

• Crushed velvet fabric scraps
• Pan top (9.5")or something round for template
• Styrofoam ball - 3"
• Rubber band (small)
• Bow wire
• Crushed glass
• Faux pearls
• Alcohol inks
• Parchment paper
• Plastic cup & spoon
• Clear silicone glue

How To:

  So let's begin with how to make this lovely ornament! I had a bit of crushed velvet fabric left over from a Christmas tree skirt I made several years ago and I thought the fabric was perfect since it's soft and stretchable to make beautiful ornaments for my recently purchased purple flocked slim tree. I got it with a 20% off discount for $47.99 from Bed Bath and Beyond. It looks tall but it's only 4.5 ft. high. Target has it for $82.99, so I got a good price from BBB, but I digress!

 First, lay the fabric out and use the top of a fry pan or something that's 9.5 inches round to make a template of a circle .  .  .

that is large enough to cover a 3 inch styrofoam ball. I was able to cut five circles out of the leftover velvet. Next, place the ball in the middle of the circle and .  .  .

pull the edges up and around the ball, gathering at the top. Grab a small rubber band, doubling it around the top to hold the fabric in place. Then fold a 15" piece of Bowdabra bow wire or twine together to make a loop. Wrap the looped wire around the gathered fabric and insert the two loose ends into the loop, pulling the wire ends tightly around the fabric. Separate the wire ends around the gathered fabric, tightening it and tying in a tight knot to secure the gathered fabric. This technique is great when you don't have extra hands available to help with tying.

Next, pull the velvet fabric up through the bow wire to smooth out any large folds or creases and to make the velvet ball as smooth as possible. 

Next, cut off some of the gathered fabric, leaving  about an inch of decorative folds at the top. The excess bow wire can be cut off at the knot.

Let's move on to the crushed glass which was probably left over from projects I did here and here. For this, I'm going to mix the crushed glass with alcohol ink! First, pour enough of the crushed glass to decorate a few ornaments into a plastic cup or throw-away container.

Then place several drops of alcohol ink on top of the crushed glass and stir together, Alcohol ink gives off an intense coloring and is a great way to customize crushed glass into my favorite hues of purple! Hot dang! 

This is what the color looked like after a few drops and .  .  .

then adding a bit more to achieve this lovely effect! I did the same with some of my faux pearls I had left over from this project, too! And it doesn't take long for the alcohol ink to dry, either. Once it was mixed thoroughly to a shade I liked, I poured the colored glass onto parchment paper to dry and there was no staining of the paper to my surprise. Doesn't this color look vibrant!

Next, spread clear silicone glue around the bow wire and below in a decorative effect.

Then use a plastic spoon to spread the colorful crushed glass over the glue.

And use the back of the spoon to press the glass into the glue. Let dry.

The larger pearls can be hand placed with a little glue on one side and placed randomly throughout the crushed glass.

To make the hanging loop, fold a ten inch strip of bow wire tying the loose ends together into a knot. Spread a bit of glue on the knot and place in the middle of the gathered folds at the top. Use the sharp tip of scissors to push the wire knot into the center of the foam ball, straightening the loop and let the glue set.

How pretty is this!

Next up is Terri @Decorate & More with Tip sharing how she made her beautiful Christmas candle holder!

Be sure to have fun and get inspired with all of the wonderful creations offered this month by clicking on the links below!

Donna @Modern on Monticello - Wood Slice Merry Christmas Garland

Gail @Purple Hues and Me - Crushed Glass and Pearls Ornament

Terri @Decorate & More with Tip - Christmas Candle Holder Tutorial

Sara @Birdz of a Feather - Origami Shirt Advent Calendar

Cecilia @My Thrift Store Addition - Vintage Hankie Ornaments - No Sewing or Cutting!