Handmade Cone Trees

Cone trees may be my new obsession.

I just wanna keep making them, and it's not just me.

These fabric covered cones from The Exchange are amazing!!!

They're next on my To Do list.

So, the other night I was feeling rather hum drum.

My son was about to toss some empty cereal boxes into the recycling bin,

and an idea clicked.

They were the right weight to make sturdy cone trees!

 After opening each box to lay flat, I cut off the tabbed ends.

I rolled up each sheet of cardboard,

taping the seam once I formed a point at one end.

Then I cut along the bottom edge to make it stand up straight.

(Eyeballing it is less precise and may require several trims until the cone lays straight.)

 Now to the fun part...

For this teal and brown tree, I took two coordinating ribbons 

and alternated laying the diagonal stripes from top to bottom.

As the tree was being covered,

the stripes began to shift to a more horizontal direction,

eventually criss-crossing over.

I simply followed the direction of the stripes until the last finishing strip. 

 The trees below are wrapped in twine.

I adore both the sparkly, colorful designs of the holiday season

as well as the muted, natural looks.

I want both represented in my Christmas decor,

and these trees are a wonderfully textured and rustic element. 

 Large trees, small trees,

trees covered in fabric and trim.

Glittered trees, rustic trees.

More and more trees, please! 

Are you a fan of cone trees?

Any Christmas obsessions favorites???


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Triple Layer Coffee Filter/Doily Wreath

Presenting my pièce de résistance of the 2010 Holiday Season...

the Triple Layer Coffee Filter and Paper Doily Wreath!

It all started with the purchase of the wrong size coffee filters.

Desperate for my morning cup, I used one of the too small filters anyway

and was rewarded with a gritty cup o' joe.  Nice (well, not so much.)

Between Martha Stewart and numerous bloggy inspirations,

I decided a wreath was in order.

I used a wire wreath form (with three circles) lurking in my craft supply

(had attempted to make a chandelier for my daughter's room - disaster.)

Starting with the innermost circle: 

I twisted the small brown filters into a flower shape,

 pulled the (not fluffy) ends through the wire,

looped and hot glued them into place all around the form.

The second row consists of larger white coffee filters,

twisted into a flower shape, pulled through the wire form and glued into place.

The wreath was fairly full at this point, 

and the outermost wire circle couldn't be seen but I felt it was incomplete.

Another row of white filters didn't seem quite right, 

so I opted to use medium-sized paper doilies from the Dollar Tree

using the same technique but even more gently.

Perfect!

A loop from gold Christmas ribbon through the wire form,

white lights poked into the back of the filter flowers,

and displayed on a wreath hanger in my front window.

I am thrilled with the results!

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Merry Christmas!

 Merry Christmas from our family to yours!

Advent Stockings

I've been looking for the right Advent Calendar for our family for several years...the wood ones with boxes were adorable and colorful, but the small compartments were too limiting.  There are many wonderfully creative projects out there (like using small metal buckets, chinese take-out cartons, decorated paper bags, etc.), but none of them clicked for me.  Then I saw this idea in the Ballard's catalog and thought, "A-ha!  I can do this!!!"  (And my version costs a lot less than the $99.00 price tag on theirs.  Fleece on clearance, thread, glue, paper, clothespins and twine.)  

Wanting a non-traditional color scheme, 

I used blue, brown, green and pink fleece (that I had on hand) 

and added the cream fleece for a 5th color.

Michaels had a mini stocking with curled toes that I used as a template,

simply tracing around it onto the fleece and cutting out 5 of each color.

 The fleece was so fluffy that it kept snagging on my sewing machine.

After numerous extremely frustrating attempts, 

I abandoned the machine and decided to hand stitch them.

The blanket stitch and whip stitch were attractive options but too time-consuming.

In the end, I decided that a simple straight one worked best 

for the playful look of the stockings.

 Next, I cut out 2 inch strips of the fleece for the stocking cuffs.

Some were left straight with a rolled cuff, 

while others were given a rounded edge.

The cuffs were wrapped around the top of each stocking and hot glued in place.

My intention is to add permanent felt numbers to the stockings (when I find the right ones),

but for now I made paper numbers printed onto a background I created myself.

Instead of hanging the stockings on fabric like the inspirational Ballard piece,

I am going to make a garland out of twine, clipping the stockings on with clothespin.

That gives me more flexibility on where I can display this advent calendar.

The size of the stockings also allows for more variety with the items I place in them.

Scrolls with Scripture printed on them.

Treats mixed in with messages of love for each child.

Fun activities to do as a family and with others.

Even pieces of the Little People nativity spread out across the days,

so that by Christmas Eve the scene is complete.

 My hope is that this becomes a family heirloom and tradition 

that helps create years of wonderful memories!


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