Make A Paper Cone Tree - Make A Memory

Greetings friends.  It is supposed to be a gloomy, rainy weekend so I thought I would leave you with a fun project that is really beautiful and inexpensive.  Back when I decided to make a wreath from old book pages, we made a trip to a huge used book store here in Nashville called McKay's.  If you know me,  you know how I love book stores.  I mean LOVE them.  McKay's is huge and has every kind of book imaginable,  games, DVD's and CD's.  It is housed in a two story warehouse that would blow your mind.  Not only did I load up on lovely old books that cost very little (I'm not reading them, just using the pages this time), they also have a huge section of music books, sheet music and hymnals.  I could not pass those by either, so I purchased a large piano book that had tons of music pages for $5.00 and an old hymnal for $.75.  That was a real coup.

My original idea was for a wreath made of book pages that you can find on my blog dated Tuesday, August 21, 2012.  Although I will be making more of the wreaths for Christmas gifts, I have a LOT of books and music available.  I had an idea to make a Christmas tree from some of the music pages - somehow.  You know me, on a wing and a prayer.   So through a little trial and error, I came up with this method.

I had a styrofoam cone from last year's Christmas projects to use as my base.  It's 12 inches tall.  But, you could make a cone from cardboard, maybe from a cereal box, if you wanted to save some money.  The biggest music page cones were made from tracing a 4 inch square on pieces of sheet music and cutting them out.   Since I don't know what size base cone you will use, I suggest making lots of cones.  I simply cut and rolled them and stapled them on the bottom.

You need a way to attach the cones to the styrofoam, so I used sequin pins which you can get at craft stores.

You could use hot glue to attach them, BUT you cannot move them if you don't get them placed exactly where you want.  Just giving you a heads up on that.  This tree was my second attempt.  I took the first tree apart because I didn't like the way it looked.  Glad I used pins.  If the cones had been glued, that would have been it.

Start at the bottom of the cone and work to the top.  Simply place the cones facing the same direction each time and as close together as you can get them.  Put one sequin pin near the base of the cone, pushing it through the styrofoam.

Here you can see the staples (which are only in the paper cones), and if you look even closer, the little pin heads.  First round done.  Looks like a little tutu doesn't it?

For the next round, place the bottom of the cone so it comes about half way down the cones in the first row, and pin around like the first row.  Keep repeating until you are near the top.  At this point, I shortened the cones for a couple of rows so you would have the appearance of a tree as it tapers to the top.  You will need about 2 rows of the 3 inch cones.  The very top was another story.

I sat and looked at this tree for a bit trying to figure out the best way to finish it.  Here is what I did.  Make small cones about an inch high.  Pin 4 or 5 of them pointing straight up like in the picture.  Now, go back and pin several rows of the 1 inch cones over the cones pointing up.  It takes a little time and patience and you may have to adjust here and there.  Otherwise, you are finished except for the star on top if you want one and some glitter of course.

Set the tree in a cake pan or something to catch falling glitter.  Lightly brush the cones with Mod Podge or Elmer's glue and sprinkle with glitter.  Easy.  Peasy.

You could use a small snowflake, a button, or a star of some kind for your topper.  I had two small acrylic stars that I glued back to back, put a little hot glue on the bottom and placed it in the top of the tree.  The most time consuming part of the project is making the cones.  I have to say, I am very happy with the finished product.

The little tree next to this one is really easy.  Cut out a piece of cardboard from a box, something with some thickness, not a cereal box.  Use a wooden skewer like you make kabobs with and push the flat end in the cardboard, pointy end on top.  I deleted these pictures accidently, so I hope you can follow me.  This will be the spindle/trunk of your tree.

Now, using book pages or music pages, cut out at least 10 squares for each size needed.  Reduce each set of squares by at least 1/4 inch so you will have a graduated tree effect when finished.  My base was 4 inches square.  To make sure my first set of squares covered the cardboard,  I made my paper squares 4.5 inches - just a little bigger than the base.  I used pinking shears to give the edges a little pizzaz.   Plain scissors would be fine.  If you make a tree with a big base, it will take more squares and a taller "trunk".

To make the tree,  place a piece of paper so the spindle is in the center and push is all the way to the bottom of the tree.  As you place the squares, turn them slightly so you get a "tree" effect. Every 20 or so squares, place a thin piece of cardboard (like from a cereal box) the size of the smallest square so you don't see it.  Put the cardboard so the center of the spindle is in the center of the cardboard and push it down, same as for the paper squares.  This helps give the tree body and keeps the paper squares from collapsing.  Work your way to the top using smaller and smaller squares, leaving just a tiny piece of the spindle showing.  Again, I glued two stars together back to back with the skewer/spindle in the middle.  Glitter the same way as the directions for the  cone tree above if you want.  Done.  This is an easy one for children to do.  The cone tree is a bit harder.

These trees are so pretty - quite elegant actually.  They would make lovely hand made gifts, especially for book or music lovers and they are inexpensive which is even better!   Don't forget to make some for your home also.  Wouldn't this be a fun family project on this rainy weekend?  What's more fun than cutting, gluing, glittering and decorating?  It's certainly better than what's on television.   Remember, we are making memories.


Everyday Donna

Things to Remember:

My fondest memories from childhood Christmas's involve things I made, which I have been doing every year since I was about 7.  Take the time to make some precious holiday memories whether baking or making things together, or both.  You'll be so happy you did.

How To Make A Snowman Hat Tree Topper

Hooray, it's Friday eve, better known as Thursday.  What did you do today?  This was my project for the day which is a snowman's top hat to be used as a tree topper.  This was made for my dear sweet friends Don and Rick.  No, it does not look one bit like a typical black top hat that you would expect Frosty to wear.  It does look more like something from a Dr. Seuss story, but that's okay because that is what they wanted.  Also, it can be used as a centerpiece which is a plus.

They deck their tree and house out in a theme every year and this year they are using bright colors - lime green, hot pink, and turquoise blue.  Don fell in love with the snowman hat as a tree topper 2 years ago.  We looked and looked at them, but he would change his mind and never bought one.  Last year, they used a beach theme for their tree with star fish, shells and all kinds of cute beach themed ornaments, so he didn't think the top hat was the right thing to use as a tree topper.  This year, it is THE perfect thing to use to go with all the bright colors on the tree and throughout the house.  Needless to say, you can't find one of these just anywhere.  So, I told Don I would make him one as part of his birthday gift. I wish you could see it in actuality, it is SO cute with lots of glitz and sparkle.  It would make Lady GaGa proud.

What started the whole conversation was Don saying he wanted a top hat this year for the tree, but didn't want to spend the money for a ready made one.  Then, I found one on Pinterest that was really cute made from a coffee can.  He and Rick really liked it, so I said that is what I would make.  As you can see, that is not what I made but I did use a Trader Joe's coffee can for the base.  Did I take a picture of the coffee can?  Of course not.  Sorry.  But the can is 9.75 inches tall by 4.5 inches in diameter.  It is taller than most regular coffee cans and narrower.  Perfect for this project!

Remember, I am doing this on the fly, so I played around a bit and started at one place and proceeded to another.  Do you do that when creating?  My years of working in theatrical costumes has taught me a lot about things that can be used that are inexpensive but do the job just fine.  So, I started with an empty coffee can.  Next, I cut up some cereal boxes because I wanted to cover the hat with them.

Cereal boxes are good to use because the cardboard is not too heavy and it is recycling at its finest!  I painted several pieces with a lime green acrylic paint because the Deco Mesh I was using to cover the hat was lime green.  Makes sense, right?  I just used a 1 inch sponge brush and smeared the paint on.

I painted several pieces because I needed to cover the top, sides and brim of the hat.  At least that's what I planned on doing.  I covered the can with cardboard and hot glued it down the seam.

Next, I traced around the can on another painted piece of cardboard to make the top of the hat, cut it out and hot glued it to the top of the cardboard around the can.

Yeah, there is hot glue everywhere, but it peels right off and I knew it would be covered with Deco mesh.

Next, I made what would be the brim.  I cut out a large circle of cardboard and that is where the lightbulb went off in my head.  This would be too flimsy for what I wanted.  That meant time to search the craft room for something else to cover this cardboard with.  If you are a crafter like me, then you probably have all kinds of things lurking in the shadows of your craft room.  Ding, ding, ding - I found just what I needed.  There was a package of 12 x 18 craft foam in different colors and - wahoo- two pieces of lime green foam.  That was exactly what I wanted.   I covered the cardboard covered coffee can with a piece of foam and trimmed it.  I hot glued it down the seam and then hot glued the other end and pressed it over the first seam.  Somehow I missed taking a picture of this step.  That's what happens when I get into being creative.  Oh well.  Then I cut a round piece to cover the top of the coffee can and hot glued it down.

For the brim, I traced two circular pieces of foam and cut those out.  I sandwiched the cardboard circle between the two foam pieces and hot glued them around the edges.  Again, no picture.  Please forgive me.

Now, it was time to cover the base pieces with the Deco Mesh.  First, I cut a piece about 1 inch bigger than the circle meant for the hat brim.  I laid the foam covered piece in the center of the Deco Mesh and gently pulled the edges over the top of the piece.  Working in about 2 inch sections, I put a little hot glue on the edge of the circle and pressed the mesh down with a wooden dowel rod I keep for hot gluing so I don't burn my fingers!!!!  And boy, does it burn if you touch it!  Simply roll from the outside edge toward the center until the mesh sticks to the foam.

I worked all around the circle until all the mesh was glued down.

Now, I laid a large piece of mesh over the circle I just finished and cut the mesh to the exact size of the circle.  Then, you guessed it, I glued the mesh to the unfinished top.

Time to cover the coffee can with Deco Mesh.   Cut a circle about an inch bigger than the top of the can and carefully glue it over the edges.  Yes, it looks messy because you can see the glue through the mesh, but remember it will be covered with more mesh.  Don't forget to use your dowel rod for gluing!

Time to cover the sides of the coffee can.  I laid it on the mesh sideways, cut it to size, and glued down one seam.  I rolled the can until the mesh met the original seam and pulled it tight.  I cut the mesh leaving about 1 inch to fold under when I glued it down so there would not be a jagged edge and it would hold better.  Oops, no picture again.  

Here is the finished crown of the hat.

Not too shabby.  Time to attach the brim.

I placed the crown of the hat in the center of the circle aka the brim.  I used a pencil and made dots in the foam by pushing the pencil down through the mesh so I would know the crown was centered when I glued it on.  After all this work, I certainly didn't want an off center crown!  Now, I ran a bead of hot glue around the bottom of the coffee can and set it in place on the brim.  I ran another bead of glue around the outside edge of the crown just to make sure it held.

TaDa!  Not too shabby.  The hat is nice and sturdy.  Now the fun begins.  Time to decorate!

First, I wrapped some hot pink Deco Mesh around the crown several times because it is sheer and I wanted strong color.  Again, I folded the seam and hot glued it down.  Now, there has to be an opening so the hat will fit on the tree.  I made an X in the bottom of the brim and cut it with scissors.  I pushed it back to form an opening.  If it isn't quite big enough, all they have to do it cut is just a little more so the hat will sit on the top of the tree.

My heart begins to race at this point because it's time to add the sparkly stuff.  (I do have glitter in my veins you know.)  I had several Christmas floral picks that were all glittery and sparkly (be still my heart) in hot pink, turquoise and green.  I arranged them the way I wanted and glued them to the crown of the hat.  Then, I added some turquoise metallic garland loops and some more hot pink Deco Mesh in puffs to fill out the arrangement.

Not a great picture, but it is so festive and happy and sparkly and glittery.

To finish the hat, I used some of the silver snowflakes from a garland that I had purchased at Hobby Lobby to decorate the brim of the hat, the hat band and the underside of the brim so you can see them when the hat is on the top of the tree.  I mean, it is a snowman's hat after all.

Now, how cute is that?  It needed just one more thing.   I used some 1/8 inch ribbon and glued it around the edge of the hat brim and crown of the hat just to make it more finished.  Now, it's done and
I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE IT ON THE TOP OF THEIR TREE!!

If you decide you want to make one of these adorable hats, you can use any sized can for the base.  It just depends on the look you want and pretty much follow the same procedure using any colors of your choice.  You know, I am thinking I may just have to have one of these for each of the grandson's trees and ours too.  Time's a wastin' Grandma.  You better get busy!

Everyday Donna

Things to Remember:

Frosty the snowman was a jolly happy soul,
With a corncob pipe and a button nose
And two eyes made out of coal.
Frosty the snowman is a fairy tale they say,
He was made of snow but the children
Know how he came to life one day.
There must have been some magic in that
Old silk hat they found,
For when they placed it on his head
He began to dance around................Sing with me now

Frosty the snowman was alive as he could be,
And the children say he could laugh and play
Just the same as you and me.

Santa's Belly and Harvest Angel Candles Made For Cheap!

Happy Monday one and all.  Today is the official day to celebrate Veteran's Day, although yesterday was the actual date of the Armistice ending World War One on the eleventh day  of the eleventh month at the eleventh hour.  Thank you to all who have served and are serving so that we may live free.  I pray peace on our world that war shall be no more.

Now, for a really scary update in case you haven't thought of it in these terms -- THANKSGIVING IS NEXT WEEK!!!  EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK.  That means Christmas is right around the corner  (actually 43 days from today) and if you are working on project for gifts, it is time to  get with it.  Since I have been busy making Halloween costumes for the grandsons, and crafts for the Elves' Faire at their school, I am a bit behind on my own projects.  So yesterday, I began in earnest.

If you have neighbors, co-workers, friends, or distant family that you like to remember at holiday time but don't have a huge budget (that would be us), or you like to have a hostess gift to take when going to parties, here is just the project for you that will cost you very little!

These are made using saints (or devotional) candles that I bought at The Dollar Tree.  Saints candles are usually decorated with the likeness of Saints and are very colorful.  These candles come in plain glass and you can do innumerable things with them.  They are only a dollar each.  My.  Kind.  Of.  Price.

This is a blank slate, a palette you can do anything with.  I decided to make "Santa's Belly's" out of these candles.  When I say Santa's Belly, what do you think of?  Red coat, black belt, big buckle - right?

You can buy 9x12 sheets of felt for $.25 or $.35 at JoAnn's or Michael's.  I had two red sheets and one black that I used for this project.  That is a total of $.75 for felt.  Cheap enough, right?  You need a little hot glue, some cardboard (like from a cereal box), white glue, some glitter and I decided to use these cute little snowflakes from a garland that I bought at Hobby Lobby for half price at $1.50.  I got ALL these snowflakes which is so much cheaper than buying them in small individual packages.  You just have to cut them apart.  Easy peasy.

Fold the sheet of felt in half long ways and cut.  This will wrap around the candle with some left over and you have enough for two candles from one sheet.   Place the felt in the middle of the candle, leaving some of the glass exposed at the top and the bottom.  Run a bead of hot glue down the glass, and press one end of the felt to it.  Now, tightly wrap the felt around the candle holder so that you have a bit of felt overlapping your original glued edge.  Trim any excess felt, run some glue down the edge of the glued felt and press the seam down until it holds.  You want a very slight overlap.

Cut across the 9" end of the black felt sheet about 1 inch from the end.  This will be the belt for your Santa. Place the black felt strip in the middle of the red felt and glue one end over the seam.  Wrap the strip around tightly, cut off any excess and glue the felt so it overlaps the first edge you glued down.  If you have some black ribbon on hand, feel free to use that in place of the felt.

Now, to make the belt buckle.  Cut a rectangle of cardboard about 1.5 x 1 inch.  Spread some white glue or Mod Podge on one side of the cardboard and sprinkle with glitter.  Glue the "buckle" to the center front of the belt.  This is when I decided to add one of the small snowflakes for a little extra decoration. I put a little hot glue on the back of the snowflake and center it on the belt buckle.

I plan on giving these to everyone who comes for Thanksgiving.  I also made some burlap angels that look like this.

I used some burlap ribbon that I had left from my Thanksgiving decorations.  I did the same thing with the burlap that I did with the felt.  After you glue the burlap to the middle of the candle, make some wings.  Cut a 10 inch piece of burlap ribbon and twist it in the middle like this.

I put some hot glue on the inside of the twist to hold the shape of the wings.  Put hot glue in the center of the "twist" and press the wings to the top of the burlap in back over the seam.  Now, shape the wings using your scissors.  I kind of cut an arch from the bottom, angling in to the top so they look like wings.  Use your judgment.

Wrap some sisal twine around the middle and tie in a bow.  I glued a couple of snowflakes to the bottom of the twine for weight and decoration.  Look how pretty this havest angel looks on my mantle. Here is another on the book case inside our front door.

These harvest angels look so beautiful with my thanksgiving decorations.  I will be giving these on Thanksgiving also as they will transition to the Christmas holiday season with ease.

Now, lets talk economy here.  The candle cost a dollar, half a piece of felt was 17.5 cents maximum, a little hot glue, glitter, and cardboard, say 10 cents.  The snowflake cost about a penny.  Same for the angel.  For less than $1.30 you have a beautiful hand made gift to give and everyone loves candles (these are unscented by the way).  All you have invested is a minimum of money and a little time to let someone know you are thinking of them.  How awesome is that?

If you want to buy these candles, they are in the section with all the vases and candle holders at The Dollar Tree.  I am sure they can be found elsewhere, just not positive where.  If you find them other places, please let me know so I can tell my readers.

Have fun with these projects, and maybe you will come up with some ideas of your own.  Let me know how it goes.

Everyday Donna

Things to Remember:

A handmade gift says I was thinking of you.