christmas craft

I got the idea to make these cute Christmas ribbon trees from a couple of sources!

Ribbon Tree vignette

The first tutorial I found was at Whipperberry, which has an excellent tutorial that I highly recommend. The second tutorial I saw was featured on House of Hepworths, by Craft Wannabe. Both authors created really cute trees.

Going with the more traditional silver, white, and red theme this year for Christmas, I found glitter ribbon on sale at Michael’s for 60 cents a spool! My tutorial for these trees is different from both of the other crafters, and there are so many different ways you could do this easy project!

The materials needed for this craft are few:

Cone shaped styrofoam

Ribbon – I used three spools of three yards each for the larger tree, two for the smaller tree.

Pins- either regular dress pins or decorative

scissors for cutting the ribbon

Styrofoam cone

I bought two styrofoam cones, in two sizes. But three for a nice little trio. The bigger tree I made stands about nine inches tall.

Ribbon

Cut the ribbon into equal lengths. For the larger tree, I cut pieces that were three and three-quarters inches. For the smaller tree, the pieces were just under three inches each.

Pin it!

Loop the ribbon in half, or around, and using a pin, stick it to the cone. I completely eyeballed this project, but if you need more concrete instructions, read on.

Bottom view of cone

Always starting at the bottom, try to evenly space out the ribbon. I think something like an inch between pins, at the same height, all the way around works. For each of my bottom rows, I pinned fourteen pieces of ribbon.

Rows of ribbon

Then you just work your way up. I spaced it to have some overlap, and I tried to space it so that there wouldn’t be a straight line of ribbon going up the tree.

Christmas Ribbon Tree

When you get to the top of the tree, there are several ways to finish it off. For the larger tree, I just took all the excess ribbon sticking up, and pinned it down neatly to the top. I’m thinking about adding a star or a jingle bell to the top of this one.

Christmas Ribbon Tree 2

For the smaller tree, I looped some extra ribbon to make a bow and pinned it to the top.

Tops of trees

Here’s a better view of the tops of the trees. I have them sitting on some antique doilies- perfect as a “tree skirt”.

Ribbon Tree vignette

I have to say I do smile every time I look at this vignette. I think the trees are cute, and I love my little Joy sign. Wishing you Joy this holiday season!!

Linking up to these parties: House of Hepworths

A Little Joy (craft project)

This is another super easy, and cheap, craft project!

It started with the inspiration from these cheap little $1 frames from Michaels. With the coupon on black Friday, I got them for 70 cents each. The letters were on clearance for 19 cents each, and the glitter paper was marked down half off as well. The hardest part of this project was deciding what color glitter cardstock to get.

Little silver frame

First disassemble the plastic “glass” from the frame. This plastic is ugly, doesn’t look right, and impedes the letters in this project.. You can just rip it right out. Keep the paper insert to use as a template for your glitter paper.

Red glitter paper

I chose to go with Red and white and silver this year. It was difficult for me to pass over the pretty blue and teal colors, but I felt like going in a slightly more traditional route this year.

Letters of JOY

There are all sorts of sizes for these little letters in the wooden crafts section. I liked the non-symetrical whimsy of these little guys. The lower case y was the cutest, but because there were no little case o’s left, I felt I had to go all caps. And believe me, I searched every little compartment hoping to find a little o, but the big one is all I found (and there was only one). I chose to paint the letters white to to with my theme.

Paint the letters

Two coats were enough for these little guys. I had to be careful not to goop it in the crevices. And by the way, if you feed cats any canned cat food, rinse out and save the cans. These things are great for all sorts of uses.

Using the paper template for the frame, cut out a piece of glitter paper and insert into the frame. Once the letters are dry, you just put a few tiny dots of glue on the backs, and stick it down. Let dry, and you have a little more joy in your home!