Tuesday, December 10, 2013

I wanted that tree!!

Who knew that a piece of fabric could put me on a mini emotional roller coaster. Before you go on this ride with me, I'll share the end result.


It just took a little bit for me to get things this way. Here's what happened...

About a month ago, while reading some blogs, I came across a picture of a fabulous couple of yards of fabric from IKEA of a Christmas tree.  I fell in love. (See what I saw here...) But, IKEA doesn't sell this fabric anymore.

However, upon further searching and googling (I was hoping something similar might exist) I realized that IKEA had a different type of canvas tree this year. It was $12.99 for the entire thing...and it glowed in the dark! But there was just one problem. I had gone to IKEA the week before. And another trip to Atlanta was not in my immediate future (especially not another trip before Christmas).

Thank goodness my sister was going though! But the day she was going to IKEA, they removed the tree from their website. However, there were still a few in stock! She picked up the magical canvas tree for me!

As soon as she brought it by the house, I took it out of its packaging and into a dark room. Yep! It glowed in the dark!


After picking up some 5 foot PVC pipes, the tree was hung in my hallway.


I had loved the original idea of making this tree into an advent calendar, but I wasn't quite ready to do anything permanent yet. So, like any good hoarder of craft supplies, I raided the guest room closet to see what I had on hand.


I also remembered a felt heart garland I had picked up at the Dollar Tree back in February. Using safety pins, I attached the garland to the tree.


Next, I cut some styrofoam balls in half and wrapped them in strips of fabric. These also were attached to the tree with safety pins. Some stars cut out of brown cardstock got taped into place.


 Dollar Tree also recently had packs of felt coasters. A set of four red ones made adorable ornaments.


Last but not least, I needed a topper. I tried a few different things, but in the end, I settled for a flag cut from cardstock.


It seemed different, yet fitting since the tree had a very long skinny top.


I am enjoying my festive little hallway. And I think it pairs nicely with my gift box wreath. Even if I had not had the decorations on hand, this project still would have cost me less than $20.

I must admit that there was one more mishap with this little tree. As I was snapping the last photo, the whole thing came crashing down. Apparently, one strand of twine was not enough to hold this beauty. My husband helped me secure it more permanently.


So, a word to the wise...if you hang something this way, use a couple strands of twine!

And, it seems there are a few of these trees on Ebay and Amazon...or you may find one on the shelves at an IKEA store. I am glad that my sister helped me to snag one! It's a fun addition to my Christmas decor. 

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