Christmas will be here before you know it! Yaaaay! I make the majority of my gifts and decor, so I have to get started as early as possible in order to get everything done. As with anything I make, I try to recycle and reuse as many materials as possible. With a little imagination, it's really not necessary to spend lots of money or contribute to waste in order to create beautiful new decorations that make a huge impact. My first project for this Christmas is a recycled book page mini-tree. Here's how you can make your own.
Topics: #recycled #books #page #paper #Christmas #tree #crafts #home #decor #how #to #make #upcycled #diy
Supplies:
-Cardboard tubes ready for recycle (toilet tissue, wrapping paper or paper towel tubes and etc.)
-Hot glue gun and glue sticks or craft glue
-An old (standard novel sized 5x7") book ready for recycle or other desired paper such as a phone book, wrapping paper or etc.
-Scissors
-Ribbon, bow or other desired tree "topper" and any other desired embellishments
-popsicle stick (optional) If you are using hot glue you can use it to help press pages together without burning fingers
-a good cup of coffee (optional for some but required for me!)
1. Select your desired tube according to how tall you would like your tree to be. It can be as tall or a short as you want it. For the pictured tree I used a paper towel tube with two toilet paper tubes glued on the ends for additional height.
2. Start rolling the paper cone "branches" and securing with glue.
3. Glue on your first cone "branch." Position the cone on the tube so that the open bottom sits flush to the table. This will allow the tree to stand on it's own. Continue gluing one complete even row of cones.
4. Next begin your second row, making sure that it rises above the first. Continue adding rows to the tree making sure each row is above the previous row. Trim some off the top of the paper cones if necessary in order to make them shorter than the previous row.
5. When you get the top, glue the tails inside the top of the tube.
6. To finish the tree you could glue a christmas bulb, ornament, bow or etc flat to the top of the tube. For this tree I wanted a bow that would stand up and face forward. To do this I simply wrapped the floral wire from the bow around the tip of another cone and and stuffed it down in the top of the tube. It worked great and I was all done.
There's lots of variations that you can use such as using patterned wrapping paper, newspaper, scrapbook paper, dusting the cones with glitter and etc. I also looks great to make trees in different heights and pair them as a grouping. The only limit is your imagination.
Want to see how to make these trees via live video tutorial via Hometalk?
Here it is!
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DIY: How To Make Upcycled Book Page Christmas Trees
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How fun is this craft. I have so many old books around the house. I'd love to try this craft. The finished product is beautiful.
ReplyDeleteSo glad you enjoyed it Jennifer! I'm a total bookworm so I have tons too. I donate the majority of my books but the ones that aren't in donation shape are sitting down in boxes in my garage because I just didn't have the heart to toss them. About a year ago I decided to put them to use for craft projects and I've been thrilled as a book lover with all my new book decor. Thanks so much for stopping by! :)
DeleteI need to show this to my daughter. She just loves reading so this would be a great tree for her.
ReplyDeletePlease do share! I'm so glad you liked it and thanks so much for stopping by my little corner of the web. :)
DeleteThis is such a fantastic idea!! I love doing this kind of things in Christmas so, of course I will try this DIY.
ReplyDeleteI love it. I am so going to try this!
ReplyDeleteThis is the coolest! I need to make this. It looks fantastic!
ReplyDeleteWhy not! Such a good way to put up those book pages for good use.
ReplyDeleteBeing a household who loves books, I'm definitely going to try making this! Wow! (posting for Jay Simms)
ReplyDeleteI love books and reading and this is so creative. I think I will try to make a tree like this,it is awesome!
ReplyDeleteI saw that recently and thought it was the coolest thing. I need to try this for the holiday!
ReplyDeleteI love this! It is gorgeous. I'm going to have to give it a try myself :)
ReplyDeleteWow, I love this. So economical and sounds so easy to make. Looks so classy to me.
ReplyDeleteThis looks really neat what a fun Christmas decoration!! I have never seen one like this made out of book pages.
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness! This is such an adorable idea! I'd love to make these for one of my book loving friends!
ReplyDeleteThis is adorable! I love upcycling old books - great idea!
ReplyDeleteThis is really neat. I love it! I will have to make one of these this year.
ReplyDeleteSuch a fun project. This would be fun to make in a classroom!
ReplyDeleteThat is such a cute and fun diy. I'd use old newspaper, think that would work too?
ReplyDeleteWhat a creative and fun idea. I can't believe Christmas is just right around the corner.
ReplyDeleteThis is one extremely creative and lovely way to recycle and have a fantastic Holiday tree. I love your step by step instructions. Going to try this this weekend with my daughter
ReplyDeleteSo pretty! How do you store something like this when not in use? I've avoided making paper things because I'm not sure how to store them.
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