Stylin' Saturday: O Christmas Tree

Well, it is officially December so let the Christmas cheer begin! Over the Turkey Day weekend, I made the rounds of my favorite boutiques in Duluth and came across a little (and outrageously expensive) paper Christmas tree.

Feeling inspired, I was confident that I could replicate such a tree (maybe even make some improvements) and save a few bucks in the process of my holiday home decorating. I took a photo of part of the tree I saw in the shop:

This photo was the bottom/side of the tree...simple paper cone with bunched up squares of paper stuck to the sides. You know, like the tissue paper projects we used to do in grade school....a small square of tissue wrapped around the eraser end of a pencil and then glued to a piece of paper....voilà!

Supplies needed to be a master tree sculptor: 1 paper mâché cone (in the paper craft section of Joann Fabrics), 6-8 sheets of pretty paper, paper cutter or scissors, hot glue gun, a star!!

First step was to cut up my squares. I made mine 2 inches by 2 inches but you could modify to fit the size cone that you are working with...smaller cone, smaller squares.

Next, I found a pen with a flat bottom to use as my 'paper wrapper' and fired up the hot glue gun. I did 2 rows of the first color to get a solid base:

I then alternated with the other paper pattern 2 rows and back to the first....all the way to the top of the cone.

Before I reached the top, I snipped off the tip of the cone to make a small hole at the top. The star that I found at the craft store just happened to be mounted on a stick and needed a place to live. Adjust accordingly based on the kind of star you want on top of your tree....you may not need to make a hole!

Once I got to the top, I added a little glue to the hole and stuck my 'star on a stick' in place to secure it!

Oooohhh, this little tree is so cute! And it only cost about $5 to make....now that's a Christmas miracle!!