I don’t know about you, but Christmastime brings out my desire to craft like no other time of year!  Whether it’s making decor for my house or gifts for someone else, I just want to make make make!  Unfortunately the added time constraints of this season can leave little time for crafting, but as creative people, WE MUST MAKE! 

So, for this week’s edition of the More Merry, Less Stress Holiday Action Plan, we’re taking time to indulge our inner craft gods and goddesses and create something special – even if it’s a super quick craft like this adorable Paper Christmas Tree Garland I’m going to show you how to make in this post!  Taking a little bit of time to create will help you feel more fulfilled and less stressed – trust me.

Supplies Needed for a Paper Christmas Tree Garland

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• Cardstock in colors of your choice (note: make sure to buy cardstock that’s colored on both sides – unlike scrapbook paper, which is usually white on the back.)
• Paper cutter (or scissors and a ruler)
• Glue Dots or other permanent, double-sided tape
• Chipboard stars
• Hot glue gun and glue
• Twine or string

How to Make a Paper Christmas Tree Garland

Okay, I was so creatively uninspired and sorting through my craft supplies (since I vowed not to buy any additional craft supplies until 2019), to see what I could make for a Christmas craft.  I found a whole bunch of 8.5″ x 11″ rainbow cardstock that I bought for who knows what reason.  I grabbed it and my paper cutter and started messing around.  A little while later, I figured out how to make these adorable paper Christmas trees and I decided to make this garland.  It’s so easy!

Begin by cutting four, 11″ long and 1″ wide strips of cardstock.  If you have a paper cutter, this is SUPER easy!  (If you don’t have a paper cutter, you need to get one!  I bought mine back in 2005 when I was wedding planning and I have used it so much since then!)  If you don’t have a paper cutter, you can either measure with a ruler and cut with scissors, or just eyeball it and cut freehand.

Next, shorten these strips of paper as follows:

For larger paper Christmas trees: keep one strip 11″ long, cut one down to 9″, cut another down to 7″, and cut the last one down to 5″.

For smaller paper Christmas trees:  cut one strip down to 9″, cut one down to 7″, cut another down to 5″, and cut the last one down to 3″.  

Next, use the Glue Dots or double-sided tape to attach each strip together at the ends to form rings.  

Then, take the largest ring and press it down in half, so that the folds are crisp.  Place more of the double-sided tape in the middle.  Repeat this process with the other rings and stack them one on top of the other.  For the smallest ring, push it into a point at the top so that it looks like the top of a Christmas tree!

Repeat this process until you have a forest of paper Christmas trees.  At this point, adorn the tops of the trees with chipboard stars, add glitter to the edges to look like snow, glue on sequins to look like ornaments – whatever you want!

After the trees are complete, tie them together with twine or string to create a darling paper Christmas tree garland.  

This garland is so unique!  I haven’t seen any like it online, and I love the festive touch it adds in my kitchen.  

This simple project did not take much time at all, and I’m so glad I made it a priority because crafting is what lessens my stress!  

Taking time to do things I enjoy is part of what helps me keep my head on straight during the hectic holiday season.  I hope you will do the same for yourself!  

If you would like to catch up on the past weeks of the More Merry, Less Stress holiday action plan, please check them out here:

Week One: Clear It Out (Making Room for More “Stuff”)

Week Two: Spreadsheets, Lists or Apps, Oh My! (Keeping Track and Planning)

Week Three: Getting Christmas Card Ready (Holiday Photo Tips)

Week Four: Decorate It! (Finding Joy in Christmas Decorating)

-Bre

What’s a wreath without a bow?  (Probably still a beautiful wreath, but humor me here, OK?)  I think we can all agree that the cherry on top of most wreaths is a pretty bow.  For years my DIY wreaths had, being completely honest, stupid and wimpy bows.  But after fiddling around with my ribbon stash for a while, I finally figured out how to make a beautiful wreath bow, and it could not be easier!  

The best part is that aside from the ribbon you need to make the bow, you probably already have the other two supplies you need: a stapler and scissors.  

Seriously.  With just three supplies you can make a full, floofy, fantastic wreath bow in under two minutes!

Because it’s easier to SEE how it’s done in real time, I made a video to show you how to make your own wreath bow.  I think it’s simpler to “get” the process this way than with step out photos.  So here you go – watch and learn!  

Can you believe it?  Did you know it was THIS easy to make a gorgeous wreath bow?  Now that you know, just say no to those premade plastic bows and make your own.  Your wreaths will thank you for it!  

You May Also Like This No-Sew Coffee Sleeves Project!  

Forget mummies, witches, and skeletons – the thing that scares me most at Halloween is the plethora of creepy crawly insects at every turn.  From spiders to centipedes, those little buggers are enough to make me squirm.  I overcame my fear of these pests to make some Creepy Crawly Vintage Bug Halloween Decorations to add to my interior decor (you saw my outdoor decor in my Halloween porch post last week), and think they turned out too cute not to share!

Thank you to DecoArt, Inc. for providing the paint used in this post.  The project is all my own.  Also, this post contains affiliate links.  To read my full disclosure policy, please click here.

Supplies Needed to Create Vintage Bug Display Halloween Decorations

• Unfinished wood plaques
• Small plastic bug toys
• Multi-surface acrylic paint (I used gold, black tie, chocolate, and cotton ball)
• Paint brushes
• Stencils (I used a harlequin pattern, polka dots, and stripes)
• E6000 glue
• Metal label holders
• Paper
• Plate stands

How to Create Vintage Bug Display Halloween Decorations

Begin by painting the edges of the unfinished wood plaques with gold multi-surface paint.

Then paint the tops of the wood plaques with ivory multi-surface paint.

Once the paint has dried, use stencils to add pattern to the plaques with black multi-surface paint.

Set the plaques aside to dry.  Paint the plastic bug toys with gold multi-surface paint.

Once that paint has dried, highlight the details on the bug toys with bronze multi-surface paint.  This will make the bugs look aged.

Next, add metal label holders and labels to the wooden plaques.  I printed my labels out on regular printer paper.

Finally, glue the bugs to the plaques with glue that attaches plastic to wood.  E6000 is my new favorite multi-purpose glue!

Display the Vintage Bug Decorations with plate stands or tiny easels (I’ve even seen them at Dollar Tree)!  

Super creepy and also super cute!  

It’s been an incredibly long time* since I’ve shared a Dollar Tree makeover, so when I saw their fresh crop of fall arrivals, I suddenly felt inspired to get dollar store crafty again. (*Probably a few months or something.  I’m just being dramatic.)  I purchased a couple of their fall pumpkin chipboard decorations and knew I could turn them into something cuter and more personal – fall pumpkin picture frames, to be precise!  

Supplies Needed to Create Dollar Tree Fall Pumpkin Picture Frames

• Chipboard pumpkin decorations from Dollar Tree
• Acrylic paints in colors of your choice (I used cream, beige, and orange)
• Paint brushes
• Ribbon in colors/patterns of your choice
• Scissors
• Twine
• Raffia
• Hot glue gun and hot glue

How to Create Dollar Tree Fall Pumpkin Picture Frames

Begin by ripping off the decorative accent portions of the chipboard pumpkins (for example, the raffia and the chipboard flower and/or pumpkin).  Once those are off, rip off the printed layer of the chipboard.  This came off easily!  

Next, paint the pumpkins whatever color you like.  I went for a white pumpkin look, so I used a cream acrylic paint and then added some beige lines to give the pumpkins a bit of dimension.  I then painted the stand portion of the project orange.  

After the paint dried, I tied ribbon and raffia around the top of each pumpkin for some cute detail and color.  

Then I wrapped twine around the top and bottom portions of each pumpkin and hot glued it to the back of each pumpkin.  

When the hot glue dried, the pumpkin frames looked like this.  

Super cute, but even cuter once I added pictures of my kids at the pumpkin patch, and my dog posing with a pumpkin.  

The twine holds the photos in place, and these little Dollar Tree pumpkin frames are the perfect spot to display fall themed photos!  

It doesn’t get much easier than this, so I’d appreciate it if you would pin this project on Pinterest to help others find it!  

Will you be heading to Dollar Tree to find some of these chipboard pumpkins to transform into pumpkin picture frames?

-Bre