When I was a kid, my mom went all-out decorating for Christmas. I remember we’d go to school in the morning and return in the afternoon to an absolute winter wonderland. As we grew older, we’d tease her that “Santa barfed” all over the house, but we not-so-secretly loved how amazing everything looked. When my parents downsized last year, I got to take my favorite Christmas items from my mom’s collection. It means so much to me to have these pieces of my childhood, items that have a thousand different memories. I hope my kids have the same happy memories of the holidays, so in addition to the stuff I’ve inherited from my mom and grandmother, I’ve also started making decorations just like they did. Annabel sat with me while I made these trees, and I can’t help but think in ten years she’ll be like, “Mom, remember when you made those trees and you kept shouting out, ‘ugh there’s so much glitter everywhere?!'” My goal is to have all sorts of stuff for the two of them to pick from (if they want it) when they are old enough to be decorating their own homes.
For a glitter tree you’ll need:
A foam cone (this one was just under 12-inches tall and 5-inches wide at the base, but get whatever size you’d like)
Glue for glittering or Modge Podge
Glitter (I used fine-cut, regular-cut, and jumbo-cut, just for some variety)
Sequins
A box large enough for the cone to lay in
Start by placing your cone inside of the box. This will contain…some of the glitter. Then slather glue all over that cone. I did it a few inches at a time.
Once you’ve covered a section in glue, shake glitter all over that sumbitch. It was right about here that I realized a mere box lid could not contain the craft cockroach that is glitter.
Repeat your glue/glitter steps until you’ve covered the entire cone.
Stand the cone up to let it dry, sprinkling more of that blasted glitter over any spots you may have missed.
After the glue is completely dry, shake the cone to remove any stray glitter. If there are any bare spots, glue individual sequins over them. OR just add the sequins because PRETTY!
At this point, you can seal the glitter on with hair spray, but glue for glittering and modge podge are actually pretty good at holding that evil glitter in place.
You did it! And you’re probably covered in glitter. When the world explodes someday, only cockroaches and glitter will survive.
For a yarn tree you’ll need:
A foam cone (this one was just under 9-inches tall and 4-inches wide at the base, but get whatever size you’d like)
Super-bulky yarn (Mine had a metallic thread weaved in)
Dressmaker pins or the equivalent
Tacky glue
Tree-topper of your choice (not pictured)
Start by pinning the end of your yarn to the bottom of the cone. Also, there is glitter stuck to my nails. GLITTER! *shakes fist*
Establishing the bottom of the yarn tree is important, so I glued the first three rows of yarn to the cone. It made things much easier to maneuver.
Nice and secure!
As I continued to wrap the yarn up the tree, I’d occasionally push in pins to hold the yarn in place.
Keep wrapping, but don’t worry about any gaps between the yarn – you’re going to wrap this bad boy twice.
When you get to the top, glue the top row of yarn in place to prevent slipping.
Pin down the end of the yarn and trim the excess.
Now, do it again! This time cover all the bare spots. Don’t forget to pin as you go!
If you’d like to, add a tree-topper. I glued a red jingle bell to the top.
Ta da! You’ve done it! Your tree is wearing an adorable sweater, and you are still wearing glitter.
I kept singing, “Fa la la la la, la la glitter everywhere!” while I made the trees, and since it cracked Annabel up I couldn’t help but put it on the picture. Annabel thought the glitter explosion was great. I’m pretty sure she’d marry glitter if it proposed.
Any questions, let me know. Have fun!
Georgine Olson says:
Glitter and sequins, a parents nightmare. I swear they both multiply when spilled.
Heather says:
Glitter is an outdoors only craft in our house and we already have a foot of snow! I’m going to add it to our August craft list
Amanda says:
I misread this sentence as “Repeat your glue/glitter steps until you’ve covered the entire room.” Either way’s the truth, amirite?
Giselle says:
So pretty!
I think I’m going to make these to decorate my new office for Christmas!
Keep em coming, please. Need all the ideas I can get.
Sara Mc. says:
This completely cracked me up and I just wanted to THANK YOU! …”Once you’ve covered a section in glue, shake glitter all over that sumbitch. It was right about here that I realized a mere box lid could not contain the craft cockroach that is glitter.”
Diana says:
My girlfriend calls glitter “herpes of the craft world.”
GingerB says:
I call it “Satan’s dandruff”.
Missy K says:
Those are great! I am going to have to hit the craft store.
About 2 1/2 yrs ago, my daughter-in-law wore a shirt to my house that had glitter on it. I STILL find green and purple glitter in my carpet. And YES, I have vacuumed a bazillion times since then. It goes forth and multiplies. You will find that glitter while getting ready for Annie’s wedding! LOL!
Melissa says:
Ooo I love these! I wonder if you could use the spray paint glitter or if that would dissolve the foam? I am sadly anti-glitter but my Mom (who is a glitter crazy lady) would love them!
Amy says:
Glitter is my nemesis. It’s the Newman to my Jerry.
I love the idea of saving money and making my own trees, but then I think about glitter all over my house . . . and I’m pretty sure I’d rather buy already made trees! Ugh, but the homemade ones are cute. Be totally honest, I can handle it: just how much glitter comes off the homemade trees? Does the glitter rub off on your hand if you touch them?
Heather says:
Hello….glitter.
I was pretty rough with the tree to get off as much stray glitter as possible. I think spraying it down with hairspray helped. But I still get tiny bits of glitter every time I touch it. So I just don’t touch it, LOL. I touched a gold glitter tree at Joann Fabrics the other day and I am STILL finding gold glitter! Effing glitter, man.
Jordan says:
craft cockroach. I’m so gonna figure out how to use that phrase in every day life. I’ve always called it the herpes of the craft world, as Diana mentioned above.
So cute and so fun! Def gonna try this when I go home for Thanksgiving next week. Love your crafts!
Anna says:
I’ve never tried this technique so I can’t vouch for its effectiveness, but I once read a Martha tutorial for glitter pumpkins that had you paint the glue on the roll the pumpkin in a pile of glitter, I guess in a dish or something. I love the look of these, so I might try it that way and see how it works. I own a house now, and I’m scared of the glittery repercussions!
Anna says:
Paint the glue on *then* roll the pumpkins…
Lisa! says:
I am not very crafty but I think I can do this. I am going to do them in pink and give them to my mom and sisters in memory of my sister…she passed away three years ago .. breast cancer! Thanks for the idea!