Spoonful of Imagination

Add it to a Family for Something Beautiful

  • Home
  • Our Family
    • Our Home
  • Courses
  • Shop
  • Contact

Rustic Christmas Tree Tutorial

November 19, 2014 By Erica Deuel Leave a Comment

Disclosure: This post has affiliate links.

DIY_simple_christmas_treeIt’s almost the most wonderful time of year. I like to think everyday we get is a gift and can be the most wonderful time of year, but Christmas is special.

I love the lights, color, spirit, meaning and joy that it brings.

As we wait for a house, I have been busily getting back into crafting. I started with Christmas projects of course!

Today, I am excited to share with you my rustic trees. I started with getting some basic supplies together. You might have some of these things already on hand.

rustic_christmas_tree_craft

  • white poster board
  • hot glue gun
  • jute string
  • scissors
  • small wood circle (I bought mine for $0.97 at Wal-mart), but you can also find it here
  • burlap
  • any decorative fringe (I used embroidery floss and pom-poms)

Start by wrapping your poster board into a mega phone shape. Depending on how tight you wrap your poster board will depict how tall your tree will be. You can see from my picture, I wrapped them differently, so I would get two different height trees. I then used a little hot glue to hold my mega phone shape intact.

how_to_make_a_christmas_tree

DIY_mega_phone_formI then dropped my wood circle inside the mega phone to where it got snug and it stopped going down. This is where the base of the tree should be. I cut all the poster board off that was higher than the wood circle.

craft_christmas_tree

craft_christmas_tree_baseNext, I hot glued the wood circle in place. This created an inexpensively made tree form. From here, you can use your imagination and decorate that tree any way you want! I will show you a wrapping idea that I used.

I started by hot gluing some jute string to the base of my tree. This also made the seem from poster board to the wood circle pretty and clean. I then simply added a little glue, pressed my string into it and started wrapping and continued to add glue and string as I went up and around my tree form.

jute_christmas_tree_tutorial

jute_christmas_tree

DIY_jute_christmas_treeTo be completely honest, the jute string took a while. It was mindless. No thinking was required, but it got a little tedious. That is why on my second tree form I did the same technique but wrapped and twisted burlap. It was so much quicker. Ultimately, I am glad I did the jute string on one of my tree forms. I love the look of the string tree with the burlap tree. They are both rustic materials, but different mediums that created its own look.

To help the jute string not look quite like a cat scratch-er, I strung some pom poms on embroidery floss and wrapped it around my tree. I love how this added a pop of color, but the tree still holds a simple look.

burlap_christmas_tree_tutorial

DIY_burlap_christmas_treeWhat do you think!? Do you like the rustic look too and want to incorporate it for Christmas? You can use your imagination once you have your tree base and embellish your tree form any way you like!! I think glitter would be beautiful or gluing pom poms or feathers all over would be stunning as well! There are lots of possibilities!

This idea is an inexpensive way to get some heightened decorative trees. These would be cute by a fireplace or on an end table.

Where would you use them?

DIY_rustic_christmas_tree

simple_christmas_tree_craftI don’t usually share Christmas before Thanksgiving, but with moving I think Christmas will come and go so quickly and I don’t want to miss it. If you like this tree idea, you might also like my burlap wreath. It’s another simple craft!

Turn on a fun movie, get some hot chocolate, coffee, or tea and create!

signature

Share this:

  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)

DIY {easy} Burlap Wreath

January 2, 2014 By Erica Deuel 16 Comments

DIY_burlap_wreathToday it is cold and rainy. The perfect day to craft and push-off cleaning, doing laundry, and packing those last odds and end Christmas items away. Come make an EASY burlap wreath with me. This thing is so easy. It will surprise you. There is no sewing. No glue. If you want, it can be as simple as only three supplies. Have I got your attention?

Let’s get started. Grab some burlap, a pair of scissors, and a metal ring. I have no clue what this ring is really supposed to be used for. I found it while browsing a craft store and got this idea. I have found some rings here though for $2.49.

Burlap_wreath_suppliesThe first step is to cut your burlap into strips. I used strips that were about 10″ by 1.5″. Depending on the size of your ring and how you want your wreath to look, you may want longer or fatter strips. One easy way to cut burlap straight is to pull out a thread and cut down the open space as you see below.

cutting_burlapNext, you fold one of your burlap strips in half and place it behind the metal ring.

simple_burlap_wreathYou then wrap the ends of your burlap around the ring and pull them through the looped part of your burlap strip.

folding_burlapSimply pull the ends tight and flip them out of the circle to create the first part of your wreath.

simple_burlap_wreath_steps

Loop_wreathThat is the basic step. You just repeat that all the way around your wreath with additional burlap strips. Depending on the size of your ring, it will depend on how many burlap strips you use. I wanted a really full wreath. The fuller the wreath is, the easier your wreath will have pieces that stick straight out and up at the end. Rather than them flopping over or forward as the wreath is hung up.

Ring_wreath

burlap_sunflowerOnce you have stuffed as many burlap strips on as you can, your wreath is done! I think the simplicity looks really beautiful. It could be left alone like that. Which gives it a multi purpose function. It would be cute as a table’s centerpiece with flowers or something in the middle too. I see a pumpkin in the center in the fall!

I wanted my wreath to actually be used as a wreath. So, I made a quick lace bow and slipped some wire through it to attach it to my burlap wreath. That way I can easily untie the bow, if I want to switch it out or use my wreath for something else.

easy_burlap_wreath_tutorial

burlap_centerpiece

craft_roomI hung my wreath in my office for now. I’m sure I will move it at some point, but for now I really love the rustic natural look with all the color I have going on in there.

I hope you are settling into a new routine with the holidays behind us, and the new year here! Happy new year! I hope it is a beautiful year for you and are able to live out using your gifts and passions for good.

signature

Share this:

  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)

Lessons From My Toddler

July 28, 2013 By Erica Deuel Leave a Comment

IMG_9106

Often I watch my little girl, and I find myself wanting to be more like her. Her beautiful innocence, joy, and outlook on life encourage my soul. A few lessons I’m learning from my toddler lately are…

Play hard

Love people

Laugh loudly

Do what you love often

Share your feelings

IMG_9136She giggles, and I laugh.

Sometimes I wonder why there is all this pressure to teach these little ones how to grow up and become independent. Maybe…just maybe, they have the right idea. Get your basic needs met, love, and be happy.

IMG_9047

I am learning from my youngest. I hope you too are having a weekend to be quiet, reflect, and enjoy life.

signature

 

Share this:

  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)

iBlog Sneak Peak: Simplicity

May 14, 2013 By Erica Deuel 2 Comments

iBlog_Book_sidebar

The three winners of my iBlog giveaway are: Rachel R., Tara T., and Karen B.

I will be in touch with each of you! But wait, everyone is a winner today… Here is a very short excerpt from my chapter to give you a preview of the kinds of info shared in this e-book.

simplicity blogging

As you know the internet is quite large. There is a lot of content out there and more being produced every single day. The truth is, there is a lot of noise and a lot of content that is competing with yours.

Fortunately for you and for me the majority of content publishers out there don’t get the idea of simplicity. Rather than pulling back and creating something special, most sites just turn up the volume. Tons and tons of sites end up becoming hectic and busy billboards. You know the sites I’m talking about. You don’t know where to start and you just end up moving on because it hurts your eyes to stick around.

Remember we are talking about Curb Appeal. I am all for really fun, unique, and detailed posts. However, is your design simple? Intuitive? Easy to navigate? Is it easy to load?

Here are a few ideas on simplicity:

  • Navigation: I would encourage you to limit your site to have 4-6 tabs or pages when it comes to the navigation. Once you get beyond 6 tabs you can end up with lots of layers or nested navigation. This can be too much for someone to digest. It ends up looking busy.

navigation

  • Widgets and Gadgets: You can install a number of elements into your site that can assist with simplicity. WordPress calls them Widgets and Blogger calls them Gadgets. To put it simply these are plugins you can install into your site to help its functionality.
  • Mobile Responsiveness: Massive amounts of web content are being viewed on these tablets and smartphones every single day. Yet the majority of websites are not mobile responsive. Mobile Responsive is a design or a plugin that will adapt the layout of your site for a mobile device.
  • Load Times: If you are anything like me, if a page doesn’t load in about 5 seconds, I move on to the next site. I consider something to be wrong with it. I would suggest a Load Time plugin. There are a lot out there, find the one that suits you. The primary idea is that it will prioritize the order in which your content loads. Text first, pictures next, advertising last, etc.
  • Easy to Contact: As your blog grows people will want to contact you. It may simply be through a comment on your blog or the desire to send a personal message. Either way, make sure that your readers can easily contact you.

One of the primary elements of your design can be found in your consistency of creating new content. Think about your blog like a magazine. As you stand at the check out lines the new covers of a magazine draw your eye. Imagine if every week for several months the magazine covers never changed? Eventually you would lose interest because “I’ve seen that before.” But at the end of the day it’s about what is inside your home (aka blog) that makes it truly special. Be smart in your initial design, tweak as you go along and learn more, but keep the consistency of fresh new posts at the forefront of your work and your site will turn out just fine!

I wanted to share a few tips and encourage you that I think this e-book is a great read. If you didn’t win a copy, You can still buy one here.

Thanks so much for all your support!

signature

Share this:

  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
Next Page »
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • YouTube
YouTube-Channel
Erica Deuel

Subscribe for Weekly Updates!




Most Popular Posts

Painting Flower Pot Party Tips
DIY {easy} Burlap Wreath
Cheap lamp to Industrial Beauty
Engraved Wood Sign Tutorial (and Dremel Micro)
Repurpose Old Kitchen Chairs
The Encanto, Madrigal's House Craft For Kids
DIY Outdoor Checker Board
DIY Bookends (what you can make for being a hoarder)
The Way I Thrift
Chiffon Flower Tutorial

Categories

  • All About the Kids
  • art journal
  • Blogging
  • Christmas
  • Craft Projects
  • Dancing Zebras
  • DIY
  • Eddy's postcards
  • Embroidery Journal
  • Family
  • Featured
  • Foster Care
  • Giveaways
  • Guest Posts
  • Home
  • Homeschooling
  • Kid Activities
  • Kid Craft
  • My Heart
  • Our Outings
  • Project Spotlight
  • Send Out Love
  • Shop
  • Sponsored Posts
  • Spoonful Lab
  • Spoonful Tribe
  • Tips + Tricks
  • Traveling
  • Uncategorized
  • Vlog

Favorite Categories

Subscribe for Weekly Updates!

Favorite Categories

© 2023 Spoonful of Imagination, Inc.