Friday, December 2, 2011

Paper Origami, Twine, Burlap, and Sweater Christmas trees

Whew!  That was quite a title wasn’t it? 

Let’s begin at the beginning shall we?  I scored 3 cardboard Christmas Tree forms at Hobby Lobby last year after Christmas for 85% off!  So, I’ve had a whole year to think about what I wanted to do with them.  Well, I just started thinking about it 2 days ago : )  I wanted to use natural elements/colors and try to do something that I hadn’t seen done before, or at least try a new twist on something I had seen before. 


Origami Christmas trees

First, I came up with the Paper Origami Tree:

paper origami christmas tree

Don’t let the word origami scare you.  It really wasn’t that difficult.  I cut and folded all the pieces in one night while watching a couple of hours of mindless TV.

You will need these supplies:

-hot glue gun
-book or book pages
-scissors
-ruler
-index cards
I had a book that I was saving for a book page project.  It wasn’t old, but it had old looking pages and some neat gray borders and letters at the beginning of each chapter.  I kept those pages in mind when I was cutting out my squares. 
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Cut your index cards to use as your templates.  You’ll need a 3x3 card and a 2 1/4 x 2 1/4 card to use for your two different size folded pieces. 

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Then just cut away.  You’ll have to eyeball how many you’ll need.  I’d suggest doing one side of the tree first, and then you’ll know what you need to complete the rest.

Next start folding like so…
fold in half from the bottom up                                    

Fold one side up from middle to meet at the top point as shown.                             


Fold the other side up to meet the top middle as shown.                                 

Turn paper over so that open side faces down as shown.



  Bend your paper so it creases in the middle.

Flip it over, and it should look like this.  This is your    

This last one is the "leaf" you will be gluing to your Christmas tree.  Glue, glue and more glue until you get the look you want.  I started with the bigger leaves and moved up the tree with the smaller ones.   Then I finished it off at the top with the larger size.  If you have any gaps, cut your extra leaves in half and glue them in place to hide any empty spots. 

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Then I topped it off with a wooden bead and a green twine bow.  I tried to incorporate just a little bit of green in each tree to try to tie them together, since they were all natural but all very different.
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For the twine tree, all I had to do was wrap and hot glue.  No long tutorial here.  So easy!  I used 3 different colors and widths of twine.  And just a little tip… don’t spend a ton of money on jute or twine at the craft stores.  I bought all 3 of my rolls at Big lots for less than $2.50 per roll in the automotive section.

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For my last tree, I used burlap and sweater ruffles.  For the burlap layers, I just winged it.  I cut off strips of burlap and pinned them to my tree using straight pins.  Then I just eye-balled as I tucked and pinned around the tree.  I secured it underneath the ruffle with hot glue. 

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For the sweater ruffles, I just cut strips from an old sweater and gathered them at the top by hand using a whip stitch.  I then hot glued them to my tree.  I wrapped the very top of the tree with a piece of burlap and glued it in place and then wrapped it up with some more green twine to tie this tree in with the trio.  I added a little bunch of curled book page “ribbon” as a tree topper too!

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Here are the triplets all together.  What do you think?  I made them all different, but I wanted them to fit together.  So, the green twine is my common item.  I’m not sure where they will land in the Christmas scenery around here.  The boxes and bins have not yet made it down from the attic.  That is this weekend.  So excited!

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Happy Decorating!














Linking up to these great Parties:
Better Late than never Christmas Inspirations

Feature yourself Friday at Fingerprints on the Fridge, Weekend Wrap up Party at Tatertots and Jello, Saturday Night Special at Funky Junk Interiors, Strut your stuff Saturday at Six Sisters Stuff, Tip Junkie Homemade Projects, Homemade Christmas at the Scrap Shoppe


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Weekend Bloggy Reading











Positively Splendid



Thirty Hand Made Days

Link Party








Somewhat Simple





Todays Creative Blog




Sunday's Best Linky Party!Tickled Pink at 504 Main









 
 
 
 
 

24 click here to comment:

Lindsay

Oh my goodness, these are so gorgeous! I love all the different techniques! Thanks for the how-to on the book page one, that is super cute. You have such great style!

Unknown

Wow!! Love it!! I would love to try this out soon! ;)

Found you on TT&J.. I would love for you to link this up at my new linky party! :) http://www.littleinspiration.com/2011/12/create-and-inspire-linky-party.html

Thanks!
Angie from A Little Inspiration

Jennifer

I love each of them but I really adore that burlap tree! It's so sweet! Thanks for giving three ideas for the "price" of one! And I'd love if you would link up to my party!!
http://daysofchalkandchocolate.blogspot.com/2011/12/garage-sale-table-redo-link-party.html

Leasa

Ok, these are cute but my favorite is the paper origami one. I would never take the time to do all that paper folding but it is my fav.

Kim @ Too Much Time

Love them all...I think the fabric one is my fave!I am hosting my first ever blog hop this weekend and I would LOVE if you stopped by to link some stuff up!

Kim @ Too Much Time

http://kim-toomuchtimeonmyhands.blogspot.com/search/label/get%20schooled%20saturday

Andrea @Oasis Accents

Wow those look awesome. I'm really drawn to the jute/twine tree. Maybe because I have some that I got at Big Lots too! I have one styrofoam cone left and it might just get that treatment =)

Nicole Maki

Wow! They're all delightful. I bet that book paper one took a fair bit of time - the results are well worth it.

great job!

Kim @ Too Much Time

Thanks so much for linking up to my first ever party and helping make it a huge success!
Kim
PS and thanks for adding my button:)

Camille

The sweater and burlap tree is my favorite- it turned out darling! And your origami tree is amazing!! Thanks for sharing your great ideas- I am definitely trying these out!
We have a link party going on this weekend and we would love to have you stop by and share this!
Camille @
SixSistersStuff

http://sixsistersstuff.blogspot.com/2011/12/strut-your-stuff-saturday-week-22.html

PS I am your newest follower! Have a great weekend!

Anonymous

Love! The paper origami one is my fave too, but the burlap is also pretty fab.
I have a tree form in my office waiting for some inspiration :)
thanks!

Savannah Granny

So cool. My favorite is the origami. Have a great Sunday, Ginger

Katy

My fav is the one with burlap. They are so elegant, thanks for sharing.

Linda @ it all started with paint

So very cute ... and thanks for stopping by my blog and commenting.

I learned a hard lesson with my book page project -- be sure to carefully read the pages you use. I found a couple of inappropriate phrases on two of my bows and had to redo! I want to go viral for a good project -- not a crazy mistake like that!

Jennifer @ Bleu Pom

Hi, Kim! Thank you for stopping by my blog adding your suggestions to "Tips for Thoughtful People". I have updated my post to reflect your comment!

I also love what you have created on this entry! So cute and really, I can't pick one fave, I love them all!

Hope you have a very Merry Christmas!

Unknown

Your trees are simply gorgeous! I love that you made three different types! thanks for stopping by my blog and for your lovely comment. We do have similar styles - love it!

Maureen

Oh I ADORE the origami tree!!! Amazing job.
I'd love for you to link up to my Fresh Friday Link Party!
http://www.releasemecreations.com/2011/12/fresh-fridays-link-party-6.html

Jaime Lyn at Crafty Scrappy Happy

Ohhhh friend! Each tree is just wonderful! I adore each of them! I think I need one of each at my house this holiday season! :o) Beautiful! Anddd a great inspiration!
Jaime from crafty scrappy happy

Shauna K

visiting from Todays Creative Blog- what great trees!! goodness, the bookpage tree certainly turned out fabulous- I can't imagine folding all of those!! :D

Cathy @My 1929 Charmer

I really like all 3, but my fav is the sweater one. I bought so many sweaters for the holidays and it's great to find another way to use them. Thanks for sharing at Sunday's Best.

Rebecca @ My Girlish Whims

All of these trees look great! My favorite is the one with burlap. All so cute though! :)

I'd love for you to link this up to my link party, Your Whims Wednesday! http://mygirlishwhims.blogspot.com/2011/12/your-whims-wednesday-36-and-features.html

malia

what absolutely gorgeous trees! i will never let origami scare me again LOL... yours is too cute

Jessica @ Sunny Tuesday

Such pretty trees! I bet the origami tree took forever! I am also a fab of crafting with book pages! :) Stopping by from The Scrap Shoppe!

Holly Lefevre

Every one of those tress is fantastic for so many different reasons! The origami one might be my fave!

U

LOVE the burlap tree!!!