These sweet little paper trees will add a punch of Christmas color to your home and they’re fun to make; when I started I had only planned to make one, but I just couldn’t stop!

I – mostly – alternated the layers in red and green, but there are endless ways this would look cute.  Start by gathering they scrapbook papers you think you might use, and spread them out so you can see what you have.  You will need a full 12 x 12 sheet for the bigger layers, but as you get smaller, you can use up scraps.

Start by tracing a star that fills the 12 inch paper.  I used a metal star as a template, but if you don’t have something on hand to trace, you can look for a shape online.  Cut out the star.

Once you’ve gone all the way around, cut out the smaller star.

When you are finished, you will have a stack of paper stars, in descending size.

The next step is to fold them into a 3D shape.  Use a straight edge on the back to connect each point with the valley across from it, and score a fold with your finger. (if you need more detailed directions, see here.)

Repeat that step for all of the stars.

Now grab a dowel – this one is square, but it doesn’t need to be – and is about 12 inches long.

Using hot glue to keep it in place, wrap twine around the tip of the dowel.

Cut a small X in the middle of the paper star – don’t cut too big, you want the paper to fit tight onto the dowel to help keep it in place  – and then push the dowel through.

Repeat this process all the way down, alternating wrapped twine and stars, finishing with twine to keep everything in place.

For my medium sized tree, I used 7 stars.  For the bigger tree, I used 10 stars, using 4 of the same size on the bottom.  For the smaller tree,  I used the 5 smallest stars. When they were all done, I plopped them into white Ikea vases to display, using some blue tack in the bottom of the vase to hold them in place.

Chalkboard art is all the rage! I made a chalkboard last month and I love it. I saw this design on Pinterest yesterday and it looked easy enough to free-hand on my chalkboard. And it was! Took me about 10 minutes. There are more complicated designs out there, but I love the simplicity of this one.

If you want to make a chalkboard, here is what I did. I wish I would have taken photos to write a tutorial!

1. Measure the inside part of your frame where the board needs to fit in. Make sure it won’t be too loose, but not too tight.
2. Go to Home Depot and buy hardwood (comes in flat sheets 24″ long) and buy the 1/8″ thickness. Have them cut it to the size you want right there in the store!
3. At home, sand up the side a bit you are going to paint into the chalkboard.
4. Then prime it. (I used spray paint primer.)
5. Start painting with the chalkboard paint. Again, I used spray chalkboard paint. FOLLOW THE DIRECTIONS on the can carefully!!
6. After it has dried for 24 hours, ‘prime’ the surface of your chalkboard by taking a piece of chalk and color in the entire chalkboard with the side of the chalk. Then erase.
7. Insert into your frame, and make sure it is secure.
8. You are ready to go!

One thing I have learned is to use the right kind of chalk. ONLY USE chalk that has been made from calcium carbonate. Or it will ruin the chalkboard. This is a good kind to get, it is the kind I use and I love it.

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