Let’s wrap up this snowfall tree, shall we?

So earlier this year I showed you the garland for this tree, we’ve covered fancying up existing ornaments, I shared the quilled snowflake, the polymer clay ornament, and the beaded snowflake, and now it’s time to share a few last simple ornaments and bring it on home.

I have a very specific philosophy when it comes to decorating trees. One you’re probably starting to pick up on here and there. For one, I think every tree needs a theme. Even if it’s “Family Traditions” where you put all the kids ornaments. I’ll show you my version of that next week. A theme doesn’t have to be terribly specific, it could be a color scheme or a feeling you’re trying to evoke, but I think the best trees have ornaments where there is something in common.

I also think that the best trees only have a very few really standout stunning eyegrabbers. I think a truly beautiful tree looks beautiful as a whole, and for that to work the ornaments need to blend a little. In a great choir, you can’t pick out a single voice. No matter how beautiful the rogue voice is, if you can hear one singer out on her own, it distracts from the beauty of the choir. It’s the same with your tree. If you have one big gorgeous beaded and bright ornament, that’s what will draw the eye and you won’t have a cohesive arrangement. Of course, you could build the tree around that one ornament by picking a bunch of other ornaments that work with it, and then making your one beautiful ornament the star. Figuratively and literally. As in, use it as a tree topper.

And of course, I think a tree looks best when it is just dripping with ornaments. I love to hang some back near the trunk, some midway up the branch, and then some hanging off the very tip. In fact, I usually have specific ornaments set aside for each purpose, and they never need to be as fancy as you think. Want an example or eight? Here you go:

Way in the back:

I made some fat pom poms out of a plain white yarn I got on clearance somewhere using this standard method. The little ones are predone poms I got from Joann’s or something, sprayed with spray adhesive and covered with glitter. Because, as we’ve discussed, when in doubt? Douse with glitter.

Far in the back is also where I stick my really big fat ornaments. I think the difference in scale adds a lot, but I think hanging them near the front of the branch looks too heavy.

Midway up the branch:

I usually put the workhorse ornaments here, as well as the pretty ones that are around medium sized.

Here I have a plain old ugly plastic ball that I dressed up with a little dry brushing. I liked the feathery frost look, and I actually used a fabric paint because it was a little thicker and I didn’t need a second coat. Then I brushed on a glitter paint.

The mirror danglies and the pebble danglies are variations on one basic concept: Hanging pretty shiny stuff off of fishing line. Remember, I was going for the look of falling snow, so I just sandwiched a piece of fishing line between two pieces of mirror or two flat backed pebbles, and glued together with some Goop glue. When you store these, I’d recommend wrapping them in tissue paper or something, because I lost a bunch in a big fat tangled mess.

You know that foam stuff in the kid’s crafts aisle? It comes in all kinds of different shapes and then in sheet sizes too? Well, it cuts like butter with an exacto knife. I printed a bunch of snowflakes off the internet and cut them out of the foam sheet, and then, of course, glitter. But this time I used the chunky stuff.

Very tip of the branch:

I kept my eyes open all year for any crystal I could find. With a snowfall theme, I could have gone really cute and covered it with more homespun looking snowflakes and snowmen and that kind of thing, but the tree I had in my head was much more elegant and icy.

I inherited some old chandelier crystals from Bear’s grandma, I found the medium sized in the floral department, and the little ones are from the beading aisle. Anything can become an ornament, either you just have to toss a hanger on it or you find a way to just stick it in there somehow, so just look out for things you like that you can get at least six of.

Well I think that is just about enough discussion of this sweet little tree. I hope I gave you guys some good ideas, I’m really pleased with how it turned out. Starting tomorrow we’ll move on to our Family Traditions tree. And don’t forget to get your entry in for the quilled snowflake and the polymer clay ornaments. You still have some time!

These were some of the original ornaments I made nearly ten years ago for our first Christmas tree. Like most of my best ideas, they needed to be cheap, easy to make in quantity and make a big impact on the tree. These snowflakes use what I always happen to have around, and they have a fairly big wingspan so they take up a lot of room on the tree without looking super bulky.

Start with four pieces of 24 gauge wire cut to around seven inches long or so. Twist these wires around in the center. Until the last step this will be fairly wobbly, but in this step you want to make it as secure as you can manage, so I usually give all of them together a twist in the center, and then I separate out a couple wires and twist those together, a couple other wires and twist those together, you get the idea.

This doesn’t have to be stable, you’ll fix that at the end, but you also don’t want things falling on the floor either, so just randomly twist things around for awhile. This will get covered up, so pretty doesn’t really matter. Spread the arms out to create a little snowflake skeleton.

Thread the beads you want on to one of the eight arms you’ve created, leaving around 1/2″ of wire exposed. Use a little pair of round nose pliers and make a loop to keep all those beads in place.

When you’ve got the beads onto all your arms and all your loops closed up, lay your snowflake down on a flat surface and arrange the legs until you’re satisfied with how they’re all laying. Put a big fat glob of hot glue right in the center.

Plop a flat backed marble right in the center of that hot glue pile. Depending on how stable the snowflake is when it dries, you may want to put some hot glue on the back of the center too.

Add a little hanger through one of those loops you made on the end of each arm, and you’ve got another simple, cheap, ornament.

I think there are two types of ornaments. The stunners that look beautiful on a hanger, and the workhorses that look beautiful on a tree. Today’s ornament is a definite workhorse.

When I was contemplating a snow themed tree, I knew that a lot of the ornaments were going to be roughly the same shape. I had these set in rhinestones lying around, and I knew I wanted an ornament that would use them as well as provide a little contrast to all the round ball shapes and snowflakes I already had working.

Here’s how easy it is:

Roll out a piece of polymer clay to roughly 1/8″ thick. I have a pasta machine for this purpose, so I rolled it out at its thickest setting. You can easily do this with a brayer or a rolling pin covered in plastic wrap. Cut rectangles measuring 3 1/2″ x 1″ or just about any size you want. Knowing me, I probably picked this size because that was how the clay came out of the roller and I was ready to be done fussing with it.

Brush a little pigment powder on the sides. I have this stuff I got in the stamping aisle, but if you don’t want to buy something special just for this you could add a little color with paint or ink or even gold leaf after the baking is done.

Since the rhinestones I wanted to use were in a setting, I needed to make a spot for them to sit, so I pressed them into the clay to make a little space for it. If you use regular rhinestones you can skip this step, but you’ll still want to poke a hole through the top for a hanger to go through.

Bake according to the directions on the package, and when the ornament is cool add any additional color you want and glue the rhinestones in their spot. I used fishing line again as a hanger so I could have that same falling effect.

When I first made these, I was not in love with them at all. They’re nothing special to look at out of context. But on the tree is what makes all the difference. Some of the most beautiful ornaments just don’t have the same effect on the tree. My collection of swarovski crystal snowflakes are some of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen, but on the tree you can barely even see them. It’s like the difference between a dress that looks beautiful on the rack and the dress that makes you look beautiful. These little clay ornaments might seem fairly plain jane, but they’re exactly what your tree is missing. Just watch, look at any of the photos I’ve been posting of this snowfall tree, and keep an eye out for these. They make a big impact. Hang them near the back of the branch to add a little depth and you’ll be amazed at the difference a humble little ornament like this can make.

I made more ornaments to make this tutorial, so why don’t we keep the giveaway fun going? Leave a comment for a chance to win a set of six of these little buddies. I’ll pick a winner randomly at 10pm Saturday December 13th.

Today I have a big fat tutorial to share with you. It looks really really scary and detailed, but it’s not so bad. Trust me. I’ll hold your hand through the whole thing.

I’ve made a ton of these over the years and they never fail to elicit oohs and aahs. This is a perfect application for quilling. Snowflakes are best when they’re all scroll-y and complicated, and that’s when quilling is at its best too. You just need to remember that it’s only rolled up paper, and break it down to each little piece.

Cut a bunch of 1/4″ strips from a piece of 12 x 12 cardstock. I like using an icy blue color, but a true white looks great too. You can make your strips thicker if you want and it will work just great. They’ll look a little more substantial against the tree or on a package and they’ll be a little more sturdy. I happen to like the lacey look of the thinner strips and find them to be sturdy enough.

From those thin strips, here’s what you need to cut

1 – 6″ strip for the center round
8 – 3″ strips for the arms
4 – 6″ strips for the scrolls
4 – 3″ strips for the teardrop
4 – 2″ strips for the marquis

You’ll need some kind of a quilling tool, which you can find at Michael’s in the stamping aisle, or you can just make your own by cutting the top off of a needle with a pair of tin snips or wire cutters.

Insert the paper strip into the notch of the quilling tool, bring the tool to the very end of the paper, and begin rolling.

Let’s start with the 6″ center round. Once you master making the round, you can make any other shape. And it’s even easier than it sounds. Roll it all the way up, and then let it go so that it relaxes into a more loosely wound circle.

Spread a little glue on the tail end, and glue it down. Typically when you quill, you’d tear the very tip off before you glue down the other end. That feathery torn edge blends into the rest of the shape, where a cut end will form a definite ridge. Here, you won’t notice any ridge so it’s not worth the extra step.

The Round shape also provides a basis for the teardrop shape and the marquis.

For the teardrop shape, you’ll take one side of a round made from one of the 3″ strips and pinch it to create a point. Since we haven’t bothered to blend our ends in, I try to line up that ridge with the point at the top of the teardrop to disguise it.

The marquis is made the exact same way. Make a Round out of a 2″ strip, glue the end in place, and pinch both ends to create two points.

Next let’s make the scrolls. Fold a 6″ strip in half and roll each end up to that halfway point. As is this is a heart shape. Typically a scroll isn’t folded, but it helps to have a measuring point and we’ll be gluing that point down anyway, so it won’t show.

Sorry about the blurry pictures. I really needed a macro lens for this project.

The last piece is for the arms, made out of a 3″ strip. On one end of the strip, roll in about twice.

On the other end, roll in until the piece measures roughly 1″. Measurements are really loose here. The only thing that matters is that they’re all about the same height. Whether that height is a fraction of an inch taller or shorter doesn’t matter at all.

That’s it. You’ve made all your pieces. The rest is just putting it together. Start by taking 2 of the arms and glue them together back to back. With that step complete you should have:
1 Round
4 Teardrops
4 Marquis
4 Scrolls
4 Arm Pieces

Start with the Round piece. This will be the center. Next come the arm pieces. Bump the edges of those bottom loops up next to each other, and glue each piece down to the round.

Now take a scroll and glue it onto those little loops you bumped together.

Gently pull the scroll out until it touches the arms, and glue them together where they meet.

Take one of your teardrops and glue it down in the middle of the scroll. Then pull the scrolls over to meet the teardrop, and glue together. Don’t be afraid to unravel the scroll however much you need to. If the arm is bending or it doesn’t want to stick to the teardrop, you just need to give yourself a little more space.

Repeat these steps for all sides, and then glue the marquis in the little space between the loops at the top of the arms.

For the snowflakes on my tree, I sprayed the finished snowflake with a spray adhesive and doused it in glitter. I tried a liquid glue first, but it tended to make all the loops unwind. Then I threaded a loop of fishing line through one of the marquis to hang the ornament. I liked the idea of using fishing line so it would look like the snowflakes were falling instead of hanging.

These couldn’t be cheaper. You can nearly get 10 ornaments out of one sheet of paper, and they’re incredibly easy to make up in big batches. Last year I needed to make ornaments for 35 teenagers, and these were the ones I went for. A definite budget saver, and still super fancy.

In making this tutorial, I ended up making another ornament that needs a home. Leave me a comment for a chance to win it! Blogger sucks for communication, so make sure you have an active profile, a link to your website, or an email address listed in the comment so I can contact you if you win. I’ll draw a winner randomly at 10pm Pacific Time on Friday December 12th. That’s actually Bear’s birthday, so we’ll call this a celebration of him. Good luck!

By now it should come as no surprise that my over-the-top-ness extends to every insignificant detail of Christmas, so I couldn’t think about leaving out the gift tags.

Each year I pick my wrapping paper early and buy enough to wrap all my presents in matching paper that coordinates with the tree. And then I, of course, have to make cute gift tags that match the paper.

Bear’s family thinks I’m slightly insane with all this. They tend to wrap a present with paper and then just write the recipient’s name on it in Sharpie. The thought makes me shudder. Of course, it needs to have a fancy wrapping and gift tag. That’s just the right way to do it.

Last year my wrapping paper was cream with a thin blue, brown, and red plaid. The plaid was a lot more subtle than you’d expect, so the overall effect was of something you’d see in a winter cabin in the mountains. I figured that a gift tag should reflect that.

I’m really no Photoshop expert, so this tag started in Word. I inserted a clip art snowflake I downloaded from the Microsoft website, and adjusted the color to a blue tint, and then adjusted the brightness to 20%. Then I tossed a text box on top, changed it to have no fill color and no outline, and typed in my message. You can group these items together and then copy paste them until you have a whole sheet full and customize each one with your giving list. For our friends and neighbors gifts we usually forego the typical To: and From: for a more generic message like what you see above.

Once I printed them all out I took a spare piece of white fleece I had lying around and sewed around each snowflake, through both layers. Then I cut them out, cutting the paper layer slightly smaller, and punched a hole for a string.

It really didn’t take long, and the computer does most of the hard work already, so with this project you get to look like the got-it-all-togther, no-detail-overlooked type without making yourself insane in the process.

Wreaths seem to be my new obsession. Last year I made some Halloween wreaths, which I still have to share with you, of course, and that kind of launched me into a wreath making frenzy. Just like my garland experience, I had made a couple of wreaths in the past and didn’t love them, and it was for the exact same reasons as the garlands: 1)I was skimpy on the fancy stuff and 2)I couldn’t tie a proper bow.

Here’s the only early wreath I still use:

A few days before Christmas a few years ago, a whole bunch of other projects hadn’t panned out and I found myself with a couple cheap pine-like garlands, a blank metal wreath form, and a bunch of glass ornaments. So naturally I decided to toss them together and see what I came up with.

I wound the garlands on top of the wreath form and wired them in place with floral wire, but if I hadn’t happened to have those things needing to be used I would have gone with just a normal cheapy pine-like wreath. Then I hot glued all the small ornaments onto the branches and tied a lame lame bow.

I hated the way it looked, because of course the bow was so jacked up, so I tried to think of what else I could do to make this interesting, so I hung three ornaments down from the center at different heights. I probably would have gotten rid of this wreath long ago if it weren’t for that detail. I still really need to replace the bow.

I came across this wreath a while back, maybe on one of those Design for a Dime type makeover shows.

It’s a great little recycling project. You take a wire coat hanger, and stretch it into a circle, then bend the hook backwards to make a hook for the wreath. Then you rip a plastic dry cleaner bag into little strips and tie them onto the hanger. You just repeat that over and over again until you can’t cram any more little strips onto the hanger, and you’re left with this great totally mod wreath.

I wanted to add a little more interest after that, so I hot glued some ornaments on the top of it.

This year I wanted to make new wreaths for my double doors. I’ve finished them for Halloween, Thanksgiving, and now Christmas. It just seems like double front doors call out for wreaths. Of course, I didn’t get around to buying anything for it until the day after Thanksgiving when Michaels was largely picked over. I was also making this after finishing a ton of other Christmas projects and I was getting a little sick of the typical Christmas color palette, so I had to get really creative with what was left.

All the stuff I kept being drawn towards didn’t seem to have anything to do with Christmas. I snapped up those little glittery presents, but I still wasn’t satisfied with the level of festivity, so I wanted to throw some ornaments on top but I couldn’t find any that worked with the color scheme.

The ornaments I ended up using were ones I painted. I bought some clear iridescent ornaments and put a couple drops of paint and a couple drops of water inside each one and shook it all around. This ended up working great and gave me exactly the touch I needed to make it all glam and fancy, but still look like Christmas instead of just a floral arrangement.

Floral design was one of those things that intimidated me for a long time. I’m a self taught crafter, and somehow I thought that there was some mysterious trick to floral design that I just wouldn’t be able to crack. A few years ago when I was working at a Michaels running the classroom department, I became good friends with the lady who ran the floral counter and she just demystified the whole process.

Basically? It’s grabbing a bunch of stuff you like and throwing it together. It can get a whole lot more complicated if you want it to, but at it’s core it’s a bunch of stuff that looks nice together held together in a container or with some combination of hot glue and wire.

Ever since then I’ve grown more and more interested in garlands and wreaths.

Last year I whipped up this garland for my banister

and it was hands down the best one I’ve ever done. Here’s a couple more quick tips for garlands. 1) Don’t be stingy with the fancy stuff, and 2)Learn how to tie a big fat bow.

Here’s a little help with that second tip, although I might have to see if I can do a video tutorial or something. It’s way way easy when you watch it done.

A few years ago I tried to decorate a garland, and while it’s fine, it’s not wonderful. And the mistake I made was going stingy. I kept thinking too small, trying to add beads or other small touches that are just invisible once it’s put together.

see any beads in there? I didn’t think so. Also? It’s really hard to take a picture of a garland.

This garland only got salvageable when I tossed in a ton of leftover ornaments and draped a big fat ribbon all down the side of it.

The first garland I made was even less successful, but I think I had some good ideas in there. Like I mentioned, I was a self-taught crafter, and that means you learn every lesson the hardway.

I was watching a lot of Carol Duvall at the time, and one of her frequent guests did a lot of velvet embossing, so I got the idea to do a garland of embossed velvet leaves. The embossing didn’t quite take on the velvet, but I got enough of the impression there to cut out the shape, and then I hot glued a piece of florists wire on the back of it. As soon as I cut the velvet it started to shed and look ratty, so I ran a thin bead of glittery fabric paint around the edge.

Then I decided that the leaves were too floppy to keep any shape, so like the total noob I was, I decided not to back the leaves with something, and I probably didn’t even know what interfacing was back then, so I (oh gosh, do I even dare type the words?) …. I …Ijustgoopedawholelotofhotglueallovertheback. :shudder:

Then when I was finally satisfied with how the leaves were holding up, I took all the lengths of floral wire and braided them together to create the body of the garland.

Just look at that hot glue shimmer in the light.

I think I had some great ideas with this project, but I missed it a little bit in the execution. Now I’d do a couple things differently, but I think the garland itself was a good idea, especially the braiding of the wires to put it all together. Every year I think about redoing this, but there’s always something else that needs to get done. So for now I still use it, but I just use it way up high where no one can get too close a look at things.