Paper Christmas Tree Tutorial

Paper is so versatile but without special cutting tools, I didn't think I could make anything. Then, I found this tutorial for these beautiful tree ornaments on a Russian blog and thought I had to make these this year. I'm showing you the steps I took and explaining them a bit more thoroughly than I saw on that site. 

What you'll need:

1. scrapbooking paper
2. scissors or a circular cutter
3. paper folding bone/tool. I just used a credit card
4. needle and string thicker than thread. I used thin cotton yarn
5. glue gun and glue sticks

Cut 4 circles: 2 inch, 3 inch, 4 inch, and 5 inch.

 Fold each in half with the design side on the outside.

 Then fold each one in half 90 degrees from the last fold with the design side on the outside.

 Turn the circles over and fold each one in half 45 degrees from the other folds. the design side should be on the inside now.

 Flip the circles so the design sides are on the outside and the fold you just made folds inward. Easy so far, right?

Now your circles all look like this.

 Take the smallest circle, thread your needle but don't cut the yarn. String the needle up from the non-design side of the circle through to the design side. Make a loop desired size and string back from the design side to the non-design side. Cut the yarn with enough length to make a little knot. cut off extra yarn.

 Turn it back so the design side is on the outside.

 You are going to start the glueing now. The circles will fit inside each other as above. Don't push them all the way in but leave the sections so that the edge of the circles flare out a bit. See finished pictures.

Place the glue dot just on one side at a time; front and then back. Add the next section and repeat until complete. That's it. You're done!

The inspiration is in your bathroom: Holiday Wreath

I'm addicted to Pinterest these days and I especially love the DIY section.  I was inspired to save many toilet paper rolls because I wanted to make a holiday wreath inspired by the shape of a beautiful wreath on the now defunct, "See You There" blog. Directions on how to make it are very simple.  The best things about this project were 1. that it was recycling something I'd normally toss and 2. that it was practically free. I had the paint, the glue gun and the paper rolls. All I needed were the berries which I got 60% off at Michael's. So the whole thing cost about $2.

I saved about 15 toilet paper rolls and cut about 4 pieces per toilet paper roll. You may need less, you may want more depending on your design. Then I laid out the pieces around a salad plate for the roundness how I'd like the finished wreath to look. I used a combination of crimson red and bronze acrylic paint. I brushed it on cut up toilet paper roll pieces. Spray paint would have been easier, but it's not what I had on hand. So I painted the inside and outside of each piece with a wide brush. After they dried I used a glue gun to assemble the wreath parts. Last I glued on the berries. I'm pretty pleased with the final result. What do you think?