HERE'S a fun twist on a more traditional Christmas decoration.
These little trees are so easy to assemble and they make a striking display when grouped as a collection in different sizes and colours.
Materials:
2 mm craft wire
Wire cutters
12-inch Styrofoam cone
(available at craft stores)
When you purchase your wire, be sure to ask the sales associate if the wire is strong enough to stand on its own. The premise behind this idea is for the tree to stand upright. If your wire is too thin or not a strong enough gauge, the tree will not stay in its upright form. I found a wire in the range of two millimetres is plenty strong enough. You can even find coloured wire in slightly lighter gauge but the two-millimetre is best.
To make the tree, simply start to wrap the wire around the base of the Styrofoam cone and work your way to the top. You can double wrap and overlap the wire if you would prefer a more full-looking tree.
Once you have reached the top of the cone, clip the wire with your wire cutters.
Carefully begin to loosen the cone from the wire form making sure not to squeeze the wire loops so as to lose the shape of the tree.
Remove the cone and place the wire tree aside.
Repeat with other coloured wire or a few more trees of the same colour. Group the trees together and place on your coffee table.
This is a pretty centrepiece for your dining table. If you prefer, you can suspend the trees from your chandelier for a pretty, festive look.
Barb Lunter is a freelance writer with a passion for home decor, entertaining and floral design. Contact Barb at [email protected] or follow her on her blog at lunter. ca.
