This sweet little project is a
miniature version of the classic miniature, A Christmas Tree in a Glass Dome. It is in a perfect scale to sit on a table in
a dollhouse or add to the inventory in a Christmas Shoppe. As seen, the tree is green but a white one
also works quite nicely. The tree
without the dome makes a nice addition to a mantel-top Christmas village.
THE DOME
The size of the dome you use will
determine the size of the tree you create.
I used a domed-end, bead tube that had an approx. ½” diameter. A razor
saw was used to cut it to a height of 1” from the domed top down. Explore your stash for domed bead tube or try
using a large size pill capsule.
THE BASE
To create a base for the dome,
that the tree will sit on, you will want a round that has a diameter the same
as the dome or just slightly larger.. As
seen the base and dome have ½” diameters.
I used a ½” round paper punch to punch out 6 rounds from lightweight
cardstock (actually I used scraps of computer, matte presentation paper). The rounds were stacked, evenly, together
using glue stick. The piece was painted
to resemble wood by antiquing a base coat of golden brown with a brown
antiquing gel.
A 3/8” diameter round Woodsie was
painted red and then glued, centered on the prepared ½” round.
When your tree is complete you will
want to drill a hole in center of this piece to hold the tree trunk.
As you are working on the base do
keep checking to make sure your dome will fit snuggly over and on it.
THE TREE
The tree is cut from a chenille
stem. I like to use bump chenille
because the shape is already partially formed.
Choose a nice fluffy stem. Keeping in mind the size of your dome, both
height and fullness and trying on as needed, cut and trim the stem into a tree
to fit into your chosen dome….make sure to leave room for a star at the top. Before you start giving the chenille a “haircut”
look at the stem closely and you should notice that the twist of the wire
causes the chenille to flow in one way.
Making sure the chenille runs downward from the top of the tree will
make a better looking finished product.
Use wire cutters to cut a piece of the stem slightly longer that you
need so you have something to hold onto while trimming.
Once you have the desired size, paint
the tree with green acrylic craft paint, trying to cover the wire as much as
possible. Before the paint has set, use
a larger, stiff bristled brush and a dabbing motion to remove excess paint and
separate “branches”. The painting will
give you a more realistic looking tree.
Paint the trunk brown.
If you have not drilled a hole in your base do so now. Cut the tree trunk so the tree branches sit
almost on the base. Insert trunk in hole
with a bit of glue to hold in place
DECORATING THE TREE
To make the decorating easier, I
suggest you use some sticky wax to hold the bottom of the base to something
that will make it sit at eye level and that you can turn with ease….a paint or
glue bottle?
Start with the star on top. I used the tiniest of gold stars that are either
stickers or nail stickers. Some paper
punches have multiple stars that include very tiny ones. You can punch them out of gold foil
paper. Use two stars, glued back to back. Use the tiniest dab of Crafter’s Pick Tacky
glue to adhere the star to the very top of the tree.
Next use either metallic gold
sewing thread or shredded gold cording for garland. Start the garland at the very top with a dab
of glue and then spiral it around the tree until it pleases you. Hold the end with glue and snip off excess
garland.
Glue no-hole beads in one or more
colors all around the tree. Hint:
Pour a few beads on a saucer-like piece for easy access. Put some tacky glue on your left thumb
nail. Use one end of a round tooth pick
to apply the tiniest of dab of glue to the tree. Using the other end of the
toothpick immediately slightly dampen it on the tip of your tongue and use it
to pick up a bead and apply it to the glue on the tree.
You will probably come up with
variations of decorating ideas for your tree…if you do, let us know your ideas.
“O Christmas Tree, O
Christmas, Tree,
How Lovely Are Your
Branches”
Well,
our tree is up and I must say, it does look lovely. My daughter and I spent hours hand-cutting paper snowflakes. Each one is different from the others. I love their stark whiteness against the
green of the tree. Now to finish the
gift shopping!!!
Joann
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Thank you, Joann. Sweet little tree.
ReplyDeleteAdrienne
Perfecto Joann, prometo intentarlo, muchas gracias¡¡¡
ReplyDeleteSusi
Très ingénieux! Merci pour cette jolie idée!
ReplyDeleteJoann, thank you for this tutorial, I have already made one :D!!
ReplyDeleteHugs, Ilona
Hello Joann,
ReplyDeleteThank you for the great tutorial! The Tree is just wonderful and it really is such a beautiful objet d'art to put around the dollhouse.
big hug,
Giac
Fantastic tutorial! Thank you so much!
ReplyDeleteGreat Christmas Tree! Thanks for the great show!
ReplyDeleteHi Joann I just found you not sure what path led me here but sure glad I found you ! What fun treasures and thanks for sharing. Merry christmas to you and yours, E
ReplyDeleteGracias , maravillosa idea , muy bien explicado y unas fotos muy claras.
ReplyDeleteBesos , Feliz Navidad y Feliz año nuevo. Loly
En mi blog estoy de sorteo , por si le apetece apuntarse.
ReplyDeleteBesos y nuevamente . Feliz Navidad.
http://lolyaliminis.blogspot.com
Great tutorial and so tiny. Thank you for sharing it. Best wishes for the New Year xx
ReplyDeleteLovely idea! Most look for my chenille stems, I think I have a green one somewhere =)
ReplyDeleteHi Joann, your blog is incredible!! haces miniaturas fabulosas, muchas gracias por compartir tu sproyectos. Saludos desde Paraguay
ReplyDeleteyour the best, miss you in DHM. please come back.
ReplyDeleteM. Denise Tucker
This was really insightful, thanks for sharing!
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