Garland Trees--Love these!

One very popular Christmas decoration that I have been seeing a lot of this year is cone shaped, fake Christmas trees. Some are covered in glitter or beads, but most that I have saw are made with garland. I was SHOCKED to see the price range for these things! To make the tree in this tutorial, I only spent $1.50 in supplies! They are so easy to make, and you can really put your own flare and style into them!

Here is what I used for my tree:

* A paper mache cone from Michael's craft store. They are in the Christmas craft section and only cost $1 when on sale : )

( You can also make whatever size cone you want with a piece of card stock or poster board. I will show you how at the end of this tutorial)

* Garland. I used some vintage silver garland that I have had for years.

* Some type of 'ornaments'. Instead of buying mini round glass ornaments, I used a Christmas craft stem that I had left over from the Yarn Wreath Tutorial. It only costs $.50!!

* Hot Glue

And here are the steps:

First, hot glued one end of your garland to the tip of the cone.

Begin tightly wrapping the garland around the cone. Keep the spacing close so you cannot see the cone underneath. Hot glue the garland in place ever so often.

Keep wrapping until you reach the bottom. Hot glue in place, and cut off any extra garland.

For the 'ornaments', I used the Christmas craft stem I previously used here. Most craft stores have a huge selection of dirt cheap Christmas stems this time of year. I just love how the balls sparkle! I started cutting off the balls from the stem.

Then, I put a bit of hot glue on the balls and placed them randomly onto the tree. Hold them in place for a few seconds until the glue sets.

That's all there is to it! It took me about 5 mins to make my tree. I think I am going to make a few more in different sizes to display on top of my bookcase!

If you want to make your own cones for your trees here is how you do it :

This picture isn't to scale but it serves as a good reference.

I would suggest using card stock or poster board to make the cones. Regular paper will be too flimsy for this project.

First, decide how tall you want your tree. If you want your tree to be 12 inches tall, then make both sides of the triangle 12 inches long. (The sides of the triangles are depicted by the black lines in the picture)

The angle of your triangle determines the fatness of your tree. If you use a 90º angle your tree will be squatty. I suggest using about a 70º - 60º angle.

After you decide what height and angle you will be using go ahead and draw out your triangle sides using a ruler and a protractor.

To draw the curved bottom (depicted by the blue line in the picture) use a compass tool. After you have everything drawn, cut the shape out and use strong tape to keep the seams of the triangle together.

Enjoy! And look for more crafts coming your way soon!!

*Jes*