{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!

Pack your bags....

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Cats. You either love them or you hate them.  I personally have a love/hate relationship with my two children. Most days they are cuddly and cute. Other days the incessant meowing (and peeing in my Longchamp bag) morphs me into Mommie Dearest and I start screaming about wire hangers.  Since it's the season to be thankful, and I'm most definitely thankful for my two babies Rajah and Rishi, it is high time I do something nice for them (aside from the occasional salmon treat), thus I set about making them their dream bed.

I was at the thrift store a few weeks ago, when I spotted a set of pukey green suitcases. Obviously the first  thought that enters my head is 'Can I afford $2 suitcases?', the second thought was CAT BED! The suitcase cat beds have been around for years, but I never arrive on time so why start now? I didn't use a tutorial for this project, I just went off the pictures I remembered seeing in the past, however some of my favorites were Kristen's from Green, it's the new blue (you can find the tutorial here) and Claire's American tourister bag. These girls know how to let a pet sleep in style!

No Sew Suitcase Pet Bed Tutorial

Supplies:

-Old suitcase
-4 Feet (thrifted, re-purposed, whatever…) I used wooden doorknobs that I got from Ace Hardware for $1.79/4
-E6000 glue

-Paint (for feet, if necessary)
-Stapler + Staples

-Scissors
-Foam Craft Board
-Fabric
-Batting and Foam (I used remnant batting and foam from my headboard project)

Optional Cat Banner:  Burlap, jute rope, and sharpie marker

Instructions:

1. Cut the foam craft board to the size of the width and depth of the bottom of the suitcase. This will serve as the base of your pillow

2.  Cut the Foam Stuffing to the length and width of your foam craft board.  I used multiple layers of foam to create the desired height (Mine was about an inch taller than the depth of the bottom of the suitcase). Glue the layers of foam together + to the base of foam craft board.

3. Cut batting so that it can be draped over the foam + foam craft board.  Staple the batting to the underside of the foam craft board.

4.  Do the same procedure with the fabric of your choice.

5.  Paint legs with color of your choice.  Secure legs to underside of the suitcase using E6000 glue. You may want to consider sanding the contact points first for best adherence (don’t paint the portion that will be glued, for a  better stick).

5. Optional: Make a banner using burlap (or any other choice of fabric) cut into triangles, and then stapled onto a piece of jute rope.  I stenciled letters onto my burlap using black and blue sharpie markers.  I secured the banner into the corners of the suitcase using safety pins.

The final product:

Rajah thinks his new bed is boss.

I know my kitties are thankful for their new resting spot.  What are you thankful for this holiday season?  Happy Thanksgiving, enjoy your friends and family and whomever you choose to spend the holiday with!  I know I for one cannot wait to get my hands on a turkey sandwich.....