What inspires you? Sometimes I find inspiration in books, in nature, and in dreams. Sometimes I find it in the pages of a Pottery Barn catalog. Today I found it while playing home preschool with my daughter.
During an impromptu tree craft I was doing with my Ms. Noodle (which can be seen at the end of this post) a lightbulb went off and I realized an easy way to make some pretty little trees. These trees can be tucked along a mantel, in windows, in nooks, on end tables, as part of your holiday table... I even thought they'd make cute gift tags. They take less than 5 minutes to make, too. Oh, and they are practically free. Sweet.
Somehow they manage to look vintage and modern at the same time. My favorite mix!
Since our mantel area is literally under construction right now {tile and hearthstone to be added this week-- woot!} I only have a few snippets to reveal. I've tucked them into the shelves in our new built-ins, adding to what is already there.
I even used a few half-trees to spiffy up some frames and mirrors.
Easy decorating, using what you already have-- right up my alley!
Tutorial: Simple Mantel Trees
Materials:
scrapbook paper
scissors
glue (I used rubber cement)
The first tree I made was from two mismatched scraps of paper. The second time around I used a whole piece of scrapbook paper to make a larger tree. Either method works! The first tutorial is the basic idea using scraps, and then I detail the faster method below it.
Step One: Fold a piece of paper in half, pattern side in.
Step Two: Freehand a simple tree shape along the fold, so when you cut you'll have a whole tree. Cut out the shape. Do this using other pieces of folded paper until you have 4 whole tree shapes.
Step Three: Apply glue to one side of the back of one tree. Glue one side of the back of another tree to it. Continue on until you have all four trees glued back to back, creating a 3-D tree.
Step Four: Trim off any excess paper that peeks out and you are done!
Shortcut method: fold a piece of paper in half {pattern outward}. Fold each half back upon itself so that white paper is showing on the outside.
Keeping the piece closed, cut in half so you have two identical folded pieces.
Draw the tree on the outside, making sure the fold is in the center of the tree.
Cut out the trees. You should have two. Then use one to trace the same shape in the same method onto the second piece of folded paper.
Now you have four identical trees, ready for gluing in step #3 above!
This method actually makes two additional tree shapes. I made a few half trees and propped them against picture frames, books, and more.
No comments:
Post a Comment