apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

i have always wanted to decorate a tree with old odds and ends silverware and other metallic utensils. I think it could be really spectacular with some simple white lights. However You would have to have quite a bit of cutlery laying around for that.

I'm planning on stringing the corks from wine bottles for a garland....

The old popcorn on a string was always fun to make.

Popcorn strands?
I'm sure you stitch together cute fabric scraps for fun garland, and you could cut pieces of tinfoil the way we used to cut paper to make shimmery snowflakes. i'm sure there are better ideas out there though.

I like a tree with just white lights. A shoe box worth of them do the trick and you can pull them out for parties at other times during the year. Also - long needled trees look better with the natural look.

Easy crafty stuff - cutting strips of fabric and tying bows on the ends of branches.

What people don't realize is that without a great deal of either time, expertize, or money spent on quality supplies, crafty stuff tends to look junky. And time includes chasing down patterns and ideas.

I have an abundance of materials around because I'm really into crafts, so this year I was able to make a lot of ornaments for my first Christmas tree with things I already had.

I used up scraps of yarn from knitting to make tiny stockings and mittens to hang on the tree. Boyfriend and I are gold leafing some acorns we picked up from his backyard and will string them with some metallic embroidery floss. And I made a bunch of Martha Stewart's glittered birds, because we happened to have a lot of cinnamon, apple sauce, and glue in the house. This all sounds quite tacky, I'm sure, but we're shaping up to have a very elegant tree. And not a penny was spent!

I hate to break it to you... but it's nearly impossible to keep quick and junky apart. Most anything that you can make yourself, that will still look good, will take ages. Especially if you plan to cover the whole tree. The "experts" suggest around 30 ornaments PER FOOT. So it can get a little out of hand if you plan to make it all yourself. I would at the very least buy a box or two of filler ornaments (plain round ones) and then fill out the gaps with things that you have made or found. Shiny objects will catch the light and look better.

The first year my husband and I lived together, we got our first little tree and had friends over for food. We bought an origami kit with a book and paper (plus extra paper) and asked friends to make some ornaments for us during the party. At first some people were reluctant but everyone went crazy after a while trying to out-do each other with more and more opulent animals. I still have a bunch of them I put on the tree every year, they are my best ornaments!

I look around at all the tinier things I've accumulated and hang those up if appropriate. Some of them are junky little junk things, figurines, brooches, old keychains and charms, and some things like souvenirs, like the ribbon from a wedding favor, small carnival prizes, or a seashell if it has a hole in it. I have a lot of skinny ribbons and wire and silver thread to use. Depending on the size of the tree, it's not inappropriate to add some larger (not really large) items if they're light enough and can hang safely, something you could identify across the room, such as ornamental birdhouse or beaded change purse, bobble-hip hula girls, etc., that's not really heavy. I have a couple things with loops already in the top that I would hang, wooden/fiber animals, stuff like that. That's pretty much what I do to fill out the usual shiny-brites etc. Also on my first tree, I made a star which I still use. I cut out a cardboard star, freehand-drawn, painted gold and covered with rainbow glitter on both sides. I took the empty plastic ribbon spool I had laying around and broke off the rims and glued it to one side of my star so I could hang it on the top. You might just secure a button to the middle of the star (or just poke two holes) with wire or twine and tie it to the top of the tree instead.

If you don't have any such junk in a box or laying around, you will have to create some or just get a box of lights. I once put about 300 lights on a 3-foot tree, it was amazing just by itself. (colored and twinkling).

these just take paper, staples, and string:

http://www.designspongeonline.com/2007/11/diy-wednesdays-modern-paper-ornaments.html

you could make pom-pom ornaments out of plastic shopping bags (if you have any around the house), or garbage bags:

http://creaturecomforts.typepad.com/my_weblog/2008/11/diy-eco-happy-pom-pom-gift-topper.html

of course, you could also make cookie, or candy ornaments

Glue the fabric scraps to colored posterboard for stability and cut out simple shapes. Print out vintage images onto cardstock paper to embelish the fabric ornaments or use as paper ornaments on their own. Metal cookie cutters can be used as stencils and then hung on the tree with a bit of ribbon. Candy canes are also a cheap and edible way to add some festive color.

to keep from the "junky" look i'd stick to a limited color palette for handmade ornaments.

The first year in my house with a real "Full sized tree" I hosted a tree decorating party and asked friends and family to bring 1 ornament instead of a hostess gift. I suggested old and loved would be wonderful. We got a beautiful collection of old, new, home made and whimsical ornaments that created a very beautiful tree. It wasn't alot of ornaments but it was a very unique and eclectic start.

One year I collected leaves, pressed them in a book & sprayed them gold. They made for a very beautiful tree.

Acorns and pinecones sprayed gold or rust and attached with a sparkly bit of string or ribbon would also be lovely.

Has anyone ever actually strung popcorn? I tried one year, and after a tedious couple hours I had a string about three feet long. Maybe I'm just really, really slow.

I made those "modern paper ornaments" from design*sponge after thanksgiving and they look great! I'm sure if you shrunk the scale down to tree-ornament size they'd look really cute.

I almost forgot about Borax snowflakes and icicles! These take time to actually form (overnight) but the hands on time is limited and you can make a lot of them fairly quickly. They do shine nicely and actually look a lot like ice if you use white pipe cleaners. The snowflakes are kind of clunky, but hanging little icicles around the tree looks pretty nice.

http://chemistry.about.com/cs/howtos/ht/boraxsnowflake.htm

ps. Borax is a detergent that can be found in many grocery stores.

Cookies, especially gingerbread -- wrap each in Saran wrap, aluminum foil, or make pouches of gift wrap.

Salt dough ornaments for longer lasting "cookies"
http://www.allfreecrafts.com/christmas/salt-dough-ornaments.shtml
Add some spices to the salt dough for a nicer scent.

without identifying your style, tough to give advice. for 8 years i created trees for an annual charity auction. i spent up to 50 hours creating the ornaments, and 8 hours wrapping the lights around the branches!

simple and elegant choice...blue lights. buy yards of a wired ribbon to create a huge mis-shapen bow at the top, and drape and twist the ribbon around the tree.

for ornaments, buy postcard books or decks of cards (i used tarot cards one year) with interesting designs. trim away white border, if necessary, and double-face tape to cardstock. the cardstock is stiff and will provide a frame-like effect.punch holes and hang with ribbon. key tags that you color with marker (or leave white) can be used to create a garland if you punch another hole and link together with the provided metal split ring.

handmade is labor intensive...i've also cut aluminum chimney flashing into shapes, but they require sanding, and spray painting with automotive paint is messy.

a length of velvet can be arranged around the base...just tuck under raw edges.

How about 3D paper snowflakes?

http://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-3D-Paper-Snowflake

I can't help you with the tree (everyone else's ideas pretty much cover it), but if you're going to decorate the rest of the room, perhaps this will spark some ideas?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/21360743@N04/sets/72157603331838721/

Probably too cheesy for your tastes, but I thought it would get you brainstorming. :)

My friend had a wonderful idea. She just took a bunch of fake flowers and used those for decorations. Her tree was gorgeous. She had paper Martha Stewart flowers in there and some other ones that looked more expensive. She had a couple of sparkly birds and even a nest. I love her tree because it totally is her, very feminine and flirty.

Glitter! If you use just one color and you get that nice fine glitter (instead of the big-speck multicolored glitter that preschoolers use), that's all you need to make ANYTHING look spectacular enough to hang on your tree. Clothespins, hardware supplies, bits of this and that from the recycling bin, old buttons, whatever. Just get it gluey (fast method: spray adhesive) and cover it in glitter. The glitter will unify the disparate elements, because they'll all be the same color. And the glitter will also showcase the shape of the objects you use, so people will think, "Oh, what beautiful sparkly circles!" instead of "Really? You hung cream cheese tub lids on your Christmas tree?"

I agree with others who have observed that NICE hand crafted ornaments take time, talent, and materials. (I craft, sometimes for $$$.)

That said, you might check the library for "traditional" Christmas books. The library where I work has a large collection (often donated) of Christmas books that include craft projects, recipes, and other info. Often the craft projects are the kinds of things that can be made pretty quickly. (Sadly, most things that are made quickly scream that they were...)

I also agree with the idea of a color theme, and maybe with the use of ultra-fine glitter. It does add instant dazzle. I have decorated a small tree with nothing but white lights and little red cardinals from the Dollar store, before. If you go handcrafted, keeping it simple seems the most practical. Red on green with white lights or silver trim is a sophisticated combo.

I once taught making German folded paper stars at the library, at the insistence of my boss. These are made from four long strips of regular paper (I cut them from 11x17 inch computer paper.) Instructions are out there on the internet, some at HGTV.com. They are very sculptural, can be used year after year, but are FAR from "simple". A tree full of them is beautiful, though!

I've been making origami Christmas ornaments this year. First a bunch of cranes in various patterned paper heavy on the reds and greens, and then I got inspired to make a bunch of tiny cubes and string them up like a garland. This is a YouTube someone else made of the same type of cubes I folded: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=suR150bNqUU

Here are some pics of my origami ornaments/garland: http://s707.photobucket.com/albums/ww80/effeffpics/Origami/

Every year, I string cranberries. It takes a while, but I just sit down and watch a movie while I string. Popcorn chains look great, too-- just make sure you have something else to occupy your brain while you work!

I like the idea of having a compostable tree with all natural decorations. Last year, I sliced oranges in thin cross-sections, dried them in the oven and then glued star anise in the center of each. Rafia string tied simply through a little hole in the top to hang on the tree, and they looked great-- and smelled amazing!

Just found an image of a pom-pom covered tree here.

http://www.melaniefalickbooks.com/news/2008/12/1/a-handmade-holidays-question-and-a-book-giveaway.html

These would be fast and easy and might look nice in three different colors. You just need scissors and a lot of yarn.

Fabric Garlands
That link has a bunch of different styles of garland to be made from fabric/felt. I'm making this one this year, but I think you could probably do a version with fabric scraps like this one.

i tend to string a lot of lights (700?) on a 6' tree and every year, i'm half tempted to leave it at that. stringing them to the trunk and out to the tips of the branches, takes bit of time, but it's absolutely magical. and really, after that, you might find you just want a star on top. (the reason i go ahead with the ornaments is cos my son loves them, and we do have a lot of them with so many memories that come with them. :)

i have strung cranberries and popcorn for several trees. you can do it in front of the tv, you mightmyabe have to buy the popcorn and berries, but you'll have thread and needle, and the birds will make them go away after you take the tree down. :)

pipecleaners string with beads make pretty wreaths that i don't think look junky, but do look like a kid may have made them. these you will have after though.

if you keep old christmas cards, cut out the image, punch a hole and string a ribbon. recycle when you're done.

i do think gold-painted pine cones, etc. can look nice as well.

have fun!

If you ever bought a beaded curtain and still didn't get rid of it, you can use strands of it for your tree.

Pairs of salt and pepper shakers can be wired up to the branches if you collect cute ones. For the pepper (whichever one commonly has only one hole), you can wire a bead onto the inside to hold it on. The same with more than one hole or try to string it through. Affix tightly, use sense and don't put heavy shakers on the tree or anything where you'd be devastated that it fell off and broke. I haven't suffered too many busted ornaments but it happens sometimes - know your household and how likely things are to fall over or yanked off by your home beasts.

Anything remotely toy-shaped and small, little airplanes or cars, Fisher-Price little people and animals, any small dolls, wooden puzzle pieces, and plastic foods.

CANDY of any kind but canes are convenient, as are individually wrapped hard candies. I like cinnamon disks. Starlight mints in red or green are great. Halls cough drops are not the way to go. Remember chocolate is toxic to dogs (and cats too?), and although it would be adorable as anything in theory, do not use dog biscuits on the tree. Think ahead there.

Any novelty bookmarks, colorful feathers, decorative hair accessories and big earrings, broken pieces of random interest, abandoned projects, loose game pieces, small tiles, cute baby booties and itty bitty mittens. Spools of thread can look good if they're wooden and bright colored thread, but don't use cheap plastic spools and/or dull-colors of thread. Raid your sewing box for pincushions and thimbles and odd buckles and buttons, but leave the seamripper.

Pinecones and acorns and tied up bundles of cinnamon sticks - or regular ordinary tree sticks. Spray paint or glitter or not. Consider lace as you would ribbon or raffia or strung things like garland, beads, or popcorn. I've never strung popcorn and probably wouldn't suggest getting started on such a tedious project (nor macaroni, but you can actually make stuff with farfalle, radiatore, or wagon wheels, etc.).

Anything that can't hang can be wired or tied to a branch or perched or arranged in a bunch in a clear container or glued.

The origami cube garland is gorgeous! I wonder how it would look if made from all the colorful junk mail I've been getting lately.

I bet it would be cool with the junk mail! Or torn up magazines! Mine was made with paper that was 3 in. squares, for reference.

as a kid we also wove heart baskets in red and white (danish here) to put on the tree.

I think the trick is to pick a theme (color, material) and keep it simple.

I have some really old ornaments made from tinsel and light bulbs that were my grandfathers.

I tihnk any old craft book will have a ton of ideas for you, just take your time and make them the best you can.

1) Bells. I lucked into a box of craft store bells one year and I've hung them up ever since.

2) Yarn. I use red and white for garlands and for tying on cinnamon sticks. I also use the same yarn to tie up the presents that sit underneath- it keeps it all coordinated.

I love all these ideas!

If you have a drill and a saw: find a thick branch or several and saw thin disks. Drill a hole toward the edge and embellish with paint, glitter, photos, metallic pen or stamp ink.

I like the paper cutouts idea people have: use wrapping paper, colored foils, or pages from a book or copy some sheet music. Maps. Assembly instructions. You can do some kind of weathering and make things look really parchmenty and old. Print out some clip art to a decent dimension, and cut it out in a circle or star. Tissue paper flowers. I don't have patience for the real origami, but I like that idea. I would get some long strips of paper, fold that into a fan that goes all the way into a circle. Before gluing, bisect it with a contrasting paper in the same fanned out hoop, so you get it to look like an X from the top.

I can literally think of these things all day. I disagree that things have to be slow and meticulous to look great, especially if you are just able to string things you have on hand. For craftier projects, I would stay simple and neat and pile it on. I am prone to incorporate each and every idea I've suggested at once, where I can see that would not appeal to everyone. I would say just do a lot of one or two things, and make sure the tree doesn't look half-assed on cheap projects or lonely little odds and ends.

People are posting great ideas!

Meant to post this earlier but had trouble:

Could you just cut the fabric into strips and tie bows? As for garlands, I think cranberries are easier to string than popcorn. And pomander balls (oranges or lemons studded with cloves), which smell divine, can be encircled with a couple of loops of ribbon and hung on a tree.

When my parents were first married, my mother -- like mamaspank's friend -- used artificial birds, flowers, and fruit, as well as, I think, ribbons tied on branches. I believe the birds and fruit (we still use them sometimes) were prettier than many of the ones available now, but there must be nice ones to be found. Even just pretty satin ribbon in a chosen palette tied in bows all over the tree could look lovely.

And then one Christmas we baked gingerbread men with loops and hung them on the tree. Unfortunately, come morning all the ones near the bottom had been reduced to hanging heads and our cocker spaniel had a bit of a stomachache (she also ate a few candy canes off the tree).

My mother loved finding ways for us kids to make ornaments that she could hang as well. I only remember some plaster ones that we painted rather sloppily -- those were her favorites but there were others.

Candy canes?

I take small strips of decorative paper (saved scraps from the year's projects) and run them against the edge of my scissors blade to curl them. Then place on tree. I also have a ribbon garland made from wedding project leftovers.

If ever there were a use for cardboard paper towel and toilet paper tubes: Paint and glitter the outside, or glue pretty paper, metallic would be ideal (at least I think so). Try to do the inside somehow as well, I'd manage to figure it out if I sat down a while. Wait for it to dry. Grab your heavy scissors and start cutting in thin spirals. About 1/8th to 1/4 inch, keep a steady hand. Elongate the spiral a bit once cut. For best effect, think of this far enough in advance to have saved quite a few tubes. The spirals can be little once or twice around or as long as you want them to be.

It might run you, but if you are having an adults only party, get tiny Goldschlagers and Rumplemintzes and tie them to the tree for party favors.

I love all these ideas! This is exactly what such a post is for...

Today's DIY craft on Design Sponge is attractive and appropriate: http://www.designspongeonline.com/2008/12/diy-wednesdays-paper-ball-ornament.html#more-15329

We were also popcorn-and-cranberry stringers (admittedly it isn't instant, as mentioned, and it helps to wear a thimble of you have one, or "bandage" the end of your thumb with duct tape), and glittered pine cones (just dotted the end of each "leaf" and sprinkled glitter) for a touch of sparkle...

I'm saving all these ideas!

A few years ago while cleaning out a closet I found a whole assortment of crystals I had from an old chandelier. I purchased some fine silver threading they sell at craft or fabric stores and used it to hang each crystal.

The tree looked stunning with/without the lights. Sometimes we forget what we save and just a lil searching in those least expected places you find hidden lil treasures that truly do (one day) come in handy.

Why not just host a Christmas Ornament Party - and have your guests bring one ornament each to the party for your tree?

Thank you so much to all of you for your wonderful ideas! I can't wait to try some of them out and report back!

Kyle

Those little cheap egg-shaped spools of curling ribbon can really fill up a tree on the cheap. Buy many colors and cut different lengths, curl them, and hang them from the branches.

You can purchase lots of vintage felt ornaments on E-bay for reasonably low prices. If you are feeling crafty, you can also purchase felt ornament kits from the 60's and 70's.

I once decorated a tree entirely with my action figure collection, but that might not be the look you're going for....

Origami cranes.

I suppose you could also sew the fabric scraps into little bags -- just sew three sides and turn inside out and fill with nuts, candy, or surprise gifts for each other and tie with ribbon and hang from the branches.

If you have any dollar bags of Mardi Gras beads lying around, you could give each strand a snip and tie them together to make multicolored garlands (although maybe they'd be a bit slender on a big tree? I did this on a very small tree once and it looked lovely with brightly colored glass ornaments).

My grandmother used to make pretty ornaments from prickly husk things (maybe they came from chestnuts?) -- she'd glue little faux pearls between the prickles and hang with shimmery cord.

She also made ornaments from shells -- gluing in a faux pearl or decoupaging a little picture inside. For a simpler look, if you eat a lot of oysters or clams, you could hang the plain shells all over the tree for a seaside theme...

Would love to see pictures of what you end up doing!

White lights, dried flowers, and hand-tied bows of pretty ribbon on some of the branches. I did a tree one year using sheaves of wheat, white statis and rosy eucalyptus. Simple, inexpensive, fragrant and lovely! I've also done the "popcorn & cranberry garland" thing, but it takes a loooonnnnggg time.

If you're feeling more ambitious, you could wrap apples in ribbon and hang, or hang cloved tangerines, limes and lemons (oranges get heavy).

Pictures, please!!

With a less labor intensive project, you could still make the paper chain- but use decorative papers instead. There are some really graphic fun prints that come in booklets used primarily for scrapbookers.

Last year, I had my first Christmas tree living on my own. I was VERY poor last year so my little 4.5 foot tree was borrowed from a friend that was out of town for the holidays. I also made my ornaments from what I had on hand: aluminum foil, pipe cleaners, and construction paper. Candy canes from red and white pipe cleaners, tinsel and ice crystals from foil, and "bulbs" from red construction paper.
Strangely enough it didn't turn out as tacky as it sounds. I was so proud of it. I'll never forget that tree. It brought a little taste of "home for the holidays" when I had to be away form my family.

Ok, sorry about the sentiments:)

I made those 3-D snowflakes last night with my kids and hung a bunch up in the front bay window - they look FABULOUS. Thanks to LilyC for the link!

You could always go to thrift stores for old ornaments. There's usually about $1 or so per box. Last year we made paper lantern ornaments out of origami paper.

It's a sad commentary that people think handmade = junky.

LOVE all these GREAT ideas!!!!

Happy Holidays to Every One!

:)

Craftstylish.com has a great "snowstorm garland" made only from dental floss and round stickers from the office supply store.

http://www.craftstylish.com/item/28838/how-to-make-a-snowstorm

I'm SO glad the 3-D snowflake link was helpful, tequila red! I thought they looked substantial without too much effort.

quiltmaster -

it's not that i feel handmade = junky. quite the opposite actually. but i do feel that fast handmade = mostly junk that is ugly, will break easily or be thrown away.

it is a rare thing that can be made quickly, cheaply and still look like something you will want to keep forever. many of the suggestions on this page are surprisingly simple and easy BUT many will still take hours and hours of work and feature a lot of materials not commonly found in the house.

The best cheap and cute decoration I ever made was a garland made out of tag sale dots - the small circular stickers that are about 3/4" diameter. You can buy them in significant quantities for not too much cash.

Start with a piece of thread, ribbon, or yarn. I prefer thread since it ends up somewhat invisible. Pair the dots, sticky side together, along the thread, spaced about 1-2 inches apart. There are so many options - all white is great, or the standard dot colors look great together or monochromatic. If you're ambitious, get some good art markers and color white dots to make your own palette.

I've done this craft both on a tree and throughout the house. On the tree is very pretty, but in doorways is lovely, since the individual dots will twist with the air currents. Definitely not a junky look!

Oh, forgot to mention:

If you make origami cubes or cranes, pop them onto you Christmas lights. They glow really pretty that way! :)