Reverse Christmas Tree Topper Tutorial

This week I'm linking up with an awesome lady whose blog I stalk over at NewlyWoodwards for the Dare to DIY Christmas challenge.


A few weeks ago I was thinking about Christmas decorations and how much I was dreading putting them up since it's not a holiday I have been looking forward to this year. However I found myself on Pinterest one day perusing the "everything" board and came across a tutorial on how to make paper stars. I am a bit of a crafting nut when something gets into my head and here is how it went:

That star tutorial is really cool, I love stars!

What could I make them out of? Ohhh, vellum, I love vellum!

Then what would I do with them? If they're vellum I should hang them somewhere!

Where to hang them...where to hang them...oh! I could make a mobile!

No...maybe I could hang them above the tree since my star always falls over...

OMG I COULD MAKE A REVERSE TREE TOPPER!!!! AND I MUST DO IT RIGHT THIS VERY SECOND!!!


So I did. And other than being covered in glitter for 24 hours and having to hone my fine motor skills to tie thin thread onto an embroidery hoop, it was pretty easy. It also got me excited about decorating which is good because my living room looks wonderful now and I am hating Christmas a lot less so mission accomplished.

Here's what you need:
-Paper of your choice (I used vellum because it's translucent and pretty and some thinner paper with gold accents, make sure it's not thick card stock or it will be difficult to cut)
-Thin thread or clear fishing line (I wanted fishing line at first but opted for a goldish silver thread for the sewing section at Joann's for a bit more sparkle)
-Embroidery hoop
-Glue
-Paint brush
-Glitter (I used Martha's Stewart glitter in Copper)
-Scissors
-Tiny hole punch

First cut out your stars in different sizes. You can do any shape you want or cut them in any way you want (origami stars would be more substantial if you wanted that look). I used this tutorial.

Then punch a small hole in the top of each one using a small hole punch and tie thread through the hole in a knot (don't worry about the length because you can adjust it later).

Prepare your embroidery hoop by covering it with glue and then glitter. Get glitter on the cat for sure so you find piles of it when you go the bed that night. Let it dry for a few hours.

Tie the stars on in varying lengths. I fought with them getting tangled for a while until I had the genius idea of putting the hoop over the top of a lamp shade and tying them on there so they would stay spaced evenly and I could see what lengths I needed. I will have glitter on that lamp shade for life but whatever.

Glitter, glitter everywhere...

There are probably a million different ways to hang this but I just wanted it up so I just wrapped some thread around the middle of the hoop a few times and secured it to the ceiling with thumbtacks. Classy, right? You really can't even tell unless you're looking for them.

And that's it! The whole thing cost me maybe $10 and took about an hour total to complete. And I probably won't want to untangle the stars next year so I will most likely throw it away when I'm done with it. Or never take it down. Both are solid possibilities.

And here is my fully decorated living room!

The other thing I made this year was that garland which is just felt circles glued to baker's string. Last year I made the mason jars filled with glitter and trees and also the Christmas lights with ribbon (although I had to retie all the ribbon on new lights this year when the bun chewed the cord one too many times).

Trixie is still pretty ticked to find out there are no gifts for her, though.

I can only have a small tree on a table to discourage kitties and buns from ingesiting fake needles.

Don't google "rabbit toys". Just don't.

I ordered the bun's Christmas presents last night. Yes, I am one of "those" owners who gets their pets gifts. Judge if you will, I'm cool with it. Last year was Archie's first Christmas and she was so excited to have a little box to unwrap with treats inside. It took her 10-15 minutes to get it open but she finally managed it. Maybe I'll try to video tape it this year. Trixie is receiving nothing because cats don't care. Well, she does but here is how it goes:

OMGOMGOMGOMGOMG A NEW CATNIP MOUSE!!! I am going to kick it and lick it and throw it and beat it and sit on it and ignore it and then attack it and love it and sleep with it and put it in my water bowl and take it out of my water bowl and shove it under the couch and then dig it out from under the couch and pretend I lose it but know where it is the whole time and cry until you retrieve it and OMG this is the best present eeeeeeever!!! *purr purr kick purr throw purr claw purr purr*

<Shortly thereafter>

Catnip mouse? Please. That is so 5 minutes ago. Fill my dish, servant. I'm going to go find a pair of your shoes to vomit in and then I will lay sprawled in the middle of your bed and hiss if you disturb my slumber.

Proof of this: asleep on the chair and ottoman with not one care.

And then she never touches it again. This is not a dramatization, she has been mine for 10 years and I know how she is so instead she gets a tiny portion of prime rib that I bring home for her from Christmas dinner and I tie some curling ribbon to some door knobs for her to attack and all is happy in her kitty world.

At the opposite end of the spectrum the bun loves everything new that I get for her and plays with it happily for week if not months. I ordered her a really cool looking enrichment toy that I found on Amazon that she has to figure out how to get the treats out of. She has one I got her on Etsy last year that she loves so I'm interested to see if she likes new one.

Anyway, this whole rambling boring business about my pets was really to just warn you of this: do NOT type in "Rabbit toys" to Amazon and then forget to select "pets and supplies" as a category. Do not. I am permanently scarred now.

Really, that's where I was going with that. I have no idea how to be concise. And I have had a migraine for a week so my brain is Jello (but really, we all know that has nothing to do with my rambling ways).

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The Runner's World Running Streak Challenge I decided to start doing on Thanksgiving is going well. I missed a few days due to my back hurting pretty badly (just for a couple of days, in general it's doing pretty well) and then due to a (as of today) 7 day migraine but missing 3 days out of 18 isn't awful so I'm not going to beat myself up over it. Running with a migraine can be pretty painful because of all the pounding and blood rushing around but I ran 6 miles this morning and am spending the rest of the day in bed to try and ward it off before the work craziness starts up. And it's going to be crazy! I am really liking the running challenge though, I didn't realize how much I missed a daily run until I started doing it again. I really miss having a treadmill in my house but I have a desk where it used to be and no other room to fit a new one so I might join a gym so that I can run at 11pm if I want. Which I do sometimes. I've been running a lot at the lake I got my start in running at and although I don't love it all the time, it's fast and easy and carries a huge amount of nostalgia with it.

My Curltember Challenge is going even better than the running challenge and I have not missed a day of that. If you remember from my previous post I am curling my hair daily in honor of one of my good friends who has breast cancer. I hate being so far from her during this and it's my way of keeping her in the front of my mind and letting her know that she's there. I will tell you this: Hot Tools Curling irons, Argon Oil and Kenra 25 hairspray are my BFF's right now. There's been some road bumps along this curly road but I'm getting closer and closer to hair that should be allowed out in public every day.

Is anyone else doing the running challenge? How about the "shop as much as possible without actually buying a thing you need for Christmas girfts" challenge? I made that one up right after Thanksgiving, too and I have been doing fantastically at it.