PCG Day Eight

 Well, the first week of December is officially over... does that stress anyone else out or is it just me? Actually I did make progess on my Christmas plans this week--in between our plumbing disaster and the plague that has had my little guy home for a full or partial day for seven of the last nine school days, I did check off a few more presents, remember to buy ingredients for dishes I have to bring to various events, and finally got the autumn decor down from the walls AND down to the basement AND in the correct storage tubs.

Sometimes you just have to set aside the perfect Christmas you have pictured in your head, and enjoy the imperfect one that it is turning out to be... again. And that's ok! You won't hear any guilt from me! There's a reason I called this blog series the Procrastinating Crafter's Guide... I know whereof I speak.

Today's 30-minute or less holiday project is one I've been wanting to try for a couple of years. Cone trees have been popular all along, but they are booming right now, probably due to Pinterest. Basically, you can hot-glue ANYTHING to these tree bases and it looks awesome. Tissue paper, candy canes, glitter, leaves, pinecones, hearts, gumdrops--you name it, I've seen cone trees made with it.

I have been keeping my eye out for cheap styrofoam cones, and haven't found any, not even at "dollar" stores. Plus, I promised this series would be all about using stuff you already had in your craft stash, right? So no extraneous trips to the store! And this is way cheaper anyway...

All you do is take that nice stiff cardboard backing from any package of Designer Series Papers (not the heavy chipboard that comes in the specialty paper--that won't bend!) and roll it into a cone. Adhere it shut with packing tape or hot glue. I used packing tape because I am already tempting the hot glue gun gods enough with all these projects! I still have a scar from my Convention 2011 presentation on the Flirtatious product suite!

Once you've got your cone secured, trim off the bottom so it stands straight. It might take more than once around to get it perfect. Discard those pieces and get to punching! If you're covering your cone tree with circle punches, like I did here, you will need about 90-100 of the one-inch circles. So punch and punch and punch some more (or enlist the kids) and when you think you're done, punch some more. Then start that hot-gluing at the base, and build your way up, slightly overlapping the circles so that none of the cone underneath shows.

TIP #1--it looks better to use a couple different patterns of paper rather than just one. I used two patterns plus the backside of the Naturals Composition Specialty papers for mine so it is tone-on-tone, but you can definitely do contrasting colors if you wish.

TIP #2--Use the tacky little Dust Buddy from our new Core'Dinations sandable cardstock line to clean off all the hot glue strings that will be all over your project when you get done. Works like a charm!

You can either set the cone right on the table, or put it over an empty candlestick, on top of a box, in a bed of fake snow, or over a cute vintage glass or bowl. And if you want, you can make different sizes to group together--or even a huge one, using posterboard to create the cone. Just be aware you'll need a TON of whatever you are going to cover it with--much more than you'd think. So make it a cheap resource that you have plenty of--like cardstock or paper--before you begin!

Tomorrow I have an idea to share from the Parade of Homes tour I took last weekend! You are going to LOVE it... ready for a hint? It uses old costume jewelry. Stay tuned for the next episode of the Procrastinating Crafter's Guide to (quick) Christmas Glam!

Comments

[Jenny]

how in the world do you keep coming up with this stuff Lyssa? this is simply stunning!

I love the garland from yesterday too. I only have a paper crafter sewing machine and have never used it. I may have to pull it out and see if it would work for that!

thanks for all the wonderful ideas!
Jenny

[Mary]

Question, what did you do to the bottom and the dowel rod?

[Mary]

Oops, I see now that you sat it on a candle holder.