Styrofoam Christmas Tree

Christmas is almost here so it's time to start thinking about Christmas decorations! Yay! I have to admit that I love seeing stuff in the stores even though it's not Thanksgiving yet, but I won't start pulling the bins out of the attic until after we have turkey! I've been thinking about what to do around the house this year and I absolutely LOVE the cone shaped Christmas trees I've seen in stores. Have you seen them? They're glittery/shimmery, cute, tinsel trees decked from top to bottom in colorful balls you see in stores everywhere. They're just so eye catching and festive!

So I went to A.C. Moore last week to buy a tall, slender Styrofoam cone for the project. While I was in the floral department admiring all the arrangements, I saw a cute potted foam Christmas tree for $50.00. It wasn't all that big either. No way would I pay that much! I had a 50% off coupon and the foam was priced at $7.00 so I got it for $3.50.

I've got a bucket of sea shells from our most recent trip to the beach and decided to make a tree of shells. I'm not a huge fan of themes or decorating with sea shells unless it's a beach cottage and done modestly but I thought this would work.

I had thought about using glittery spray paint to paint the cone but didn't want to have to buy any. I used a pale blue latex paint, leftover from painting our bedroom, to paint the cone and the tops of  the sea shells. I let it all sit overnight to dry and then using a glue gun, I wrapped the cone in silver tinsel garland that I picked up from Wal-Mart for $1.00. It came in a 15 foot package. It might have been overkill to paint the cone since I covered it but I wanted blue underneath just in case you could see thru the tinsel. I used a glue gun to randomly attach the shells, testing for placement before b/c of their shapes and sizes. Then I glued square shaped, clear aqua blue crafter's stones that I found at Dollar Tree. I attached a small star tree topper I found at Wal-Mart for $1.00.

To finish off the tree, I sat the cone in a simple white ceramic pot that I already had. It was sturdy enough to carry the weight of the tree so it was perfect! I used a Styrofoam cube, found at Dollar Tree, and a dowel rod to attach the tree to the base.

 I cut the foam cube in half and then cut one of the halves into smaller chunks to fit them in the round pot to support the tree. I glued the three pieces to the bottom of the pot.

I carefully slid a tall dowel rod up the bottom of the cone.  

Then I spread glue on top of the foam inside the pot and attached the tree to the base.

I  love it! So for about $6.50 plus the pot and supplies I already had, I have a whimsical Christmas tree that is bigger than the one selling in the store for $50.00! I will be making some more of these trees so stay tuned!