Skip to main content

Christmas Countdown 2 : Christmas Tree#24- Last Minute

Branch with Christmas ornaments 
Advent Blog Day 24 - Last Minute. 
I have a friend who always says " If it weren't for the last minute, nothing would get done!"  Today's post is for the 'last minuters' and  the busy -  some great ideas with spectacular results, all using materials you can find easily around the home  and assemble quickly with minimum equipment....  

Go for a quick walk and find some branches or collect some bits of wood from your garden or shed.... just a single branch with a few shop bought decorations  or some acrylic paint can create some magical effects. 
Branch with lights 


Bits of wood decorated with paint 

Wood, string and a few ornaments 
Most people I know have balls of wool, yarn or string in a stash at home , just stack them up and there's a Christmas tree like no other in your neighbourhood.  In fact, you only need one ball of string or yarn to make a small table top tree. 

Woollen yarn - ready for knitting 

Balls of wool 


Tutorial - Table top tree with one ball of yarn 

For paper lovers - forget using the paper doilies for Christmas fare  and don't throw out  those magazines and  newspapers... 

Paper doilies in a window 

 Magazine pages and newspapers 

Or look amongst your office supplies for those sticky notes , or for a really personal Christmas tree , use some family photos with lights to impress your relatives. 
Sticky notes ( post it notes) 


Family photos 

Party balloons could be the answer to your last minute festive tree or  just suspend  from the ceiling some of those baubles you have in your Christmas decorations box.


Balloons and more balloons 

Suspended Christmas baubles 

Chalkboard tree 
 One of my favourite last minute Christmas trees does involve  a little bit of effort  - this chalkboard tree could be decorated with stickers or handmade paper ornaments to make it truly festive and sparkly. This  chalkboard 'diy" tree does mean, however,  painting a wall with chalkboard (blackboard) paint first, unless of course you already have a wall like this . 


I like this idea because not only can you create your own Christmas tree, but you can create a whole scene, regardless of the weather outside. 
 Chalkboard Christmas Scene 

 Oh and  I wish I hadn't sent off my coffee mug stand  to the charity shop last week.... 
Wooden coffee mug stand  - I used to have one just like this! 
I am a little sad writing this today, as tomorrow is the last of the Advent blog for another year.... there are so many more crazy, bizarre,unusual, beautiful and exotic Christmas trees to share but we have run out of days. Hope you have enjoyed this little exploration of Christmas tree ideas ... I have. Please join me for one last post tomorrow. 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

"Temari Or Not Temari?" Tutorial

 Background Information:  Temari (literally translated “hand ball”) is a Japanese folk craft that is alleged to have originated in China and was introduced to Japan five or six hundred years ago. Traditionally, the balls were constructed from wrapped kimono fabric remnants and silk threads. They were made by mothers and grandmothers for children to play with. Nowadays, decorative embroidered temari represent a highly valued and cherished gift symbolizing friendship and loyalty. Recently I've wondered if your don't use traditional techniques whether you should call what you create "temari". That is an ongoing debate but today I share what I do to make a "non-traditional temari".... 1.I start  with a polystrene ball ( traditionally the balls were wound  silk scraps or other organic materials) and begin to wrap with approx 4 ply wool, turning the ball as I wrap.  2. I then wrap another layer of wool in a similar fashion , this time a 3 or 2 ...

Bilby Infatuation

  Wrapped wire and fabric bilby sculpture : Wilma Simmons 2016  Over the years I have been fascinated with the plight of the bilby and it has inspired quite a few of my cloth creations... With long pinkish-coloured ears and silky, blue-grey fur, the Bilby has become Australia’s version of the Easter Bunny. Unlike the rabbit, bilby numbers are falling rapidly. There were originally two species but the Greater Bilby is now commonly referred to simply as ‘the Bilby’ as the Lesser Bilby (Macrotis leucura) is thought to have become extinct in the early 1950s... Bilbies are nocturnal, emerging after dark to forage for food. Using their long snouts, they dig out bulbs, tubers, spiders, termites, witchetty grubs and fungi. They use their tongues to lick up grass seeds. Bilbies have poor sight and rely on good hearing and a keen sense of smell. To minimise threats from predators they’ll mostly stay within 250m of their burrows, but sometimes roam further afield depending on the food...

Countdown to Christmas 20 - Fruitcake song!

There are many songs about fruit cakes  - not all of them referring to the Christmas cake we know and love.It is really surprising to learn via Google that there are 89 listed songs with references to Christmas cake or fruit cake - not all of them complimentary.   Probably one of the most famous folk songs about Christmas cake is Miss Fogarty's  Christmas Cake (a favourite sung by The Irish Rovers).  This first recorded comical Christmas song was written by C Frank Horn in 1883 in Pennsylania, as a variation of an Irish folk song, 'Miss Mulligan's Christmas Cake' . The chorus might give you the hint that Miss Fogarty's cake was not for the faint hearted or those who suffered from a weak stomach.    Chorus : There were plums and prunes and cherries, There were citrons and raisins and cinnamon, too There was nutmeg, cloves and berries And a crust that was nailed on with glue There were caraway seeds in abundance Such that...