{25 Days of Christmas} $3 (or less) Moss Wreath

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I know what you're thinking, wreaths two days in a row???  But really, this baby looks adorable, and didn't cost me any money since I already had all of the products on hand.  Even if you have to buy the moss and the ribbon (you probably already have the other materials) this makes for an adorably inexpensive  holiday decoration (Consider changing the bow to transcend holiday seasons, moss wreaths are perfect for the spring!)

Materials:
-Old Magazine Pages/Newspaper
-Cardboard
-Tape (Preferably dark green, but any color will do, I used silver duct tape and it worked just fine!)
-Elmers Glue
-1 package of moss (available at the Dollar Store, I had mine leftover from my terrarium project)
-Ribbon (Optional)

Let me preface this by saying that you can obviously buy a wreath form and cover it with moss and glue, but if you want to be like me a scour your apartment floor's recycling bin, then your best bet is to go the cardboard/magazine route, since it's free!

Steps:
1. Cut the cardboard into desired size.  I used a shape print out in Publisher, and traced/Exacto knifed the cut out.

2.  Crumple up sheets of newspaper or magazines and arrange them around the wreath form

3. Tape the magazine pages to the wreath form.  Fill up blank spaces with small pages of newspaper or magazine.  Try to make the entire wreath uniform.

4. Apply the elmers glue to the wreath form.  I spread the glue thinly around with my finger, then applied the moss directly onto the glue.  If the moss is in clumps, pull it gently to stretch it out in order to get more coverage.

Sorry, my fingers were too gluey to take a picture!

5.  Apply small leftover fragments of moss to any bare areas.  This is why the green tape would work best, as it would conceal any bare spots, however mine were none too noticeable even with the silver tape

6.  Apply a bow, and voila! Hello Freebie/Cheapy Beauty!

Decorations don't have to be expensive in order to make a statement!   As a big thank you to my readers, I'm offering a 10% discount in my Etsy shop, just use the code HOLIDAY10.  Be sure to check back daily for more holiday tips and instructions.

{25 Day of Christmas} DIY Foam Christmas Trees

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Tis the holiday season! I like love holiday decorations, thus I've decided to do “Kaitlin’s 25 Days of Christmas”.  Check here daily for a little Chrinspiration (Christmas + Inspiration…get it?!?  No? ) 

I have always seen and liked the foam cones covered in glitter or epsom salt or fabric, or whatever (for tutorials go here, here, or here). However, this season I wanted to try to repurpose and reuse the materials I had on hand (thus there will probably be a lot of foam/cardboard projects….I’m not cheap, I’m thrifty…..only half of that statement is a lie….)

Eighteen 25 Glitter Tree / Little Birdie Secrets Ribbon Tree / According to Kelly's Sequin Tree

Materials
-Candelabra with tapered candles (or can make individual with single candle stick and tapered candle)
-3 Foam Sheets (I got mine from Walmart, they are available at any craft store)
-Stapler
-Adhesive of choice (Mod Podge, Glitter Glue, Elmers Glue, etc.)
-Glitter and Paint in colors of your choice (I used gold and white glitter, gold paint for the chevron tree; you can skip the mod podge and glitter if you just buy a pre-glittered foam sheet for a few cents more, but where is the fun in that?)

Steps:

1. Cut foam into cone shape.  You can free hand, or use a template.  Mirkwood Designs offers a great free template, which can be found here (I used this template for the 2 gold trees, then free handed for a slightly larger third tree)

2. Cover the foam in adhesive (If painting a design on the tree, do it prior to this step and allow paint to dry)

3. While the adhesive is still tacky/wet cover the foam with glitter.  Pat down the glitter with your finger and make sure there are no bare spots.

4. Set foam aside to dry.
5. Once dry, shape foam into cone shape, and staple at the seam.
6. Optional:  Cover the glitter in mod podge to reduce the possibility of glitter loss.
7. Last step is to cover the tapered candle stick with your new Candle Christmas Tree Shade!

Be sure to check back for more holiday ideas and inspiration! As a special treat to my awesome blog readers, I'm offering a 10% discount on my Etsy products, just use the code HOLIDAY10!