A Crafty Christmas: Kids' Felt Christmas Tree (no-sew!)

     This was such a fun project! I saw the idea on Pinterest, looking at different DIY Christmas decorations, and immediately I thought, "I have to make this!" This felt tree has felt decorations that stick to the tree, so that it can be decorated and re-decorated throughout the holiday season. It is perfect for little kiddos who want to mess with the real tree decorations, which may or may not be something you want them to do. 

Now, I do not have any children. And despite the fact that my husband and I act like children half the time (examples: please note in these photos the Ikea "kids' track start line" rug which this crafting took place upon), I could not justify making this to put up in my own house. However! I am a teacher and therefore work with many people who have young'n of their own. My co-teacher and I got to work one afternoon making the trees and ornaments for our other co-workers. We gifted them just before our Thanksgiving break so that their cuties could decorate their own tree to start the holiday season! 

Photos

LEFT: The finished project, up on the wall and decorated 

RIGHT: A few ornaments. Some were plain cut outs (we used cookie cutters - heart, circle, bell, stars- to create patterns to cut out) 

  LEFT: We sewed glittery Christmas colored pom-poms on some of the ornaments. You could also sew on riff-raff (the zig-zag ribbon), ribbon, or other felt shapes if you wish. I recommend sewing instead of gluing, especially with the pom-poms, because those could be swallowed if they fall off!

RIGHT: Some glitter glue was fun for making the ornaments sparkle, and add personality. 

LEFT: The star atop the tree! 

RIGHT: How I hung the tree on the wall in a secure fashion that was also removable when Christmas is over. See the description below of how I used velcro and command strips to make sure the tree stays up!

Products

(for 1 tree)

~ 1/2 yard green felt (use the weekly coupon at a store like Joann's to save a bit on this!)

~ 1 package multi-colored felt

~ glitter glue (red, silver, gold)

~ spray adhesive

~ velcro sticky back squares

~ command velcro strips (refill pack)

~ glitter pom-poms

~ needle and thread, if attaching pom-poms or other decoration

~ hot glue and glue gun

~ newspaper or old cardboard (to put things on when you're spraying them with adhesive)

Process

1. Cut out the tree first. This way you know how to size your ornaments afterwards!

     Pro Tip:  Fold your fabric in half, and draw a tree outline on the fold. I did this by hand without a template, but you could search for a template to use if you needed one! Cut out the outline and open it up- voila! A tree!

2. Cut out a trunk for your tree from brown felt. I used the fold method again, so it would be symmetrical. But you don't have to be that attentive to detail...

3. Attach the trunk to the tree with hot glue and let it cool. 

4. Make your ornaments! Cut out various shapes in different colors, then decorate them with felt cut-outs and hot glue, pom-poms, or glitter glue! This is the fun part. Here is also where I sewed on the pom-poms. 

5. When your glitter glue is dry and you are waiting impatiently to be able to practice decorating, find some newspaper, old cardboard, or a concrete patio outside (but NOT on a windy day). Lay your ornaments pretty side downward on the work surface, and follow the directions on your spray adhesive for a "temporary adhesive." For mine, this meant spraying from a distances of 10 inches away and letting it dry completely before moving it. 

6. Spray the backs of the soft sided velcro squares and attach them to your tree. 

     Pro Tip: Place these at the top of the tree and then on the edges of the branches so the branches don't droop in once you place ornaments on them.

7. Once they are completely dry, place the command strips on the velcro squares so they attach, and then place the whole thing on your wall. Now you have a tree that will be easily removed when you want it to be (just peel it off of the command strips) and take the command strips off the wall. 

A Star Wars Birthday

     When my older brother turned 26, my younger brother and I baked him sugar cookies, cut them out in weird shapes, and decorated them with dinosaur sprinkles. We were so very pleased with ourselves- there's nothing like celebrating youth, right? Well, my husband turns 26 tomorrow and after seeing a friend throw a themed party for her boyfriend's 26th, I told my husband he was having a themed birthday party. His response? "Uh, okay. Sounds good." My response? "Yay! Planning a party!!"

The decal was a gift Hubs
received at the party

     So, I set to work. We own a ton of Star Wars stuff, so choosing a theme was a no brainer. I didn't want to have to go out and get a bunch of themed items for a party, so I worked with what we already had. Which happens to include: 2 Star Wars cookbooks, pillows I made when we got married, Star Wars trivia and books, some "art" my husband had made for a contest in his chemistry lab (photos of nanowires that he had colored to look like scenes from Star Wars), 3 sets of Star Wars pancake molds and a set of Star Wars cookie cutters/presses. Clearly, we were set. I spent about $5 at WalMart to grab a black vinyl tablecloth and some glowsticks and balloons, and called it a day for decorating.

     For inspiration, I (of course) turned to Pinterest. Good news? Pinterest is full of Star Wars party ideas. Bad news? They are all posts with titles like "For your 5 year old's birthday party!" and when I thought about how much work would go into some of the decorating ideas, for just a few hours of entertaining mid-20's PhD students, I had to turn away from Pinterest. I only took away one idea: I'd seen a "Pin the lightsaber on Yoda" game, and thought that would be fun, especially after some guests had enjoyed a drink or two. I was little bit over the lightsaber hype after my Pinterst excursion though, and wanted to change it up, so things got a little nerdy. I had to ask the hubs for clarification on vocabulary before I decided on the exact title, and we settled on "Pin the Superlaser Cannon on the Death Star." Also, a Death Star is easier to draw out on posterboard than Yoda, for sure.

The Spread.

     My next focus was obviously planning the food. We were having a later party so I just wanted to prep some snacks. I picked out of the cookbooks a few dips and a cookie recipe. The dips were fairly tasty, and I really liked the "Darth Maul Dip" which was actually roasted red peppers, garlic, and cream cheese all food processed. You then, of course, sprinkle poppy seeds on top over the mold of Darth Maul's face and add pearl onions broccoli stem slices for the eyes.

Wookiee Cookies and cupcakes. From this party,
I learned that Wookiee is, in fact, spelled with
two "e"s at the end. Who know? 

     I had planned two cookie recipes, but Joe said he wanted cupcakes instead of sugar cookies. Bummed about not getting to use the cookie press/cutters, I got a little crafty with the cupcakes and made fondant cutouts with the cookie cutters. And then...I painted them! It was the most fun I've had decorating cupcakes. I definitely needed a smaller brush. The irony is that I thought about painting the fondant and how I already had brushes and gel food coloring, but I'd forgotten that almost all of my paintbrushes have been used on ACTUAL PAINT. Oil and acrylic. Probably not good to use them on food after that? Nope. I did have a few brushes that hadn't been used yet, and I chose the smallest one to use on the fondant, however it was not quite small enough for the detail in the cookie press design.

Phone picture of the painting setup. You add vodka to the food coloring/gel, so that it dries faster when you paint it
on the fondant. Just a little goes a long way! Other than that, it's just like painting with watercolors. 

Close up of the Yoda cupcake; I'm shamelessly proud of mixing the perfect Yoda-green on the first attempt. 

     Lastly, I made some "Yoda Soda" which is actually one of my favorite party recipes. Even for actual grown-up events like bridal and baby showers, jewelry parties, etc., you can make this soda. So I will end with that recipe and instructions! Happy Birthday Hubs!

Adding a striped paper straw
when serving is a way to make
this a fancier drink!

"Yoda Soda," or, the tastiest party drink

Ingredients:
- 1/2 Gallon of Lime Sherbet
- 2 Liters of Sprite

Directions: 
Scoop out the lime sherbet into a pitcher or punch bowl. Fill the pitcher or bowl 1/4 to 1/2 full with scoops, not packing the scoops or trying to save space. You will need room at the top of your pitcher. Then pour Sprite over top. As you do, the soda will foam up. Pour the Sprite until the foam reaches just under the top of your pitcher or bowl. When the foam dies down, add a few more scoops of sherbet, and repeat adding Sprite and sherbet until you've mixed your desired amount of punch. Pour into glasses (or scoop out of punch bowl with a ladle) to serve.

Indian Inspiration

The "India" challenge on my baking list was one I was really looking forward to completing. I think that Indian recipes are often so much simpler than what I often cook or bake. I love the aromatic spices of Indian culture and the flavors they produce! Another great attribute of Indian recipes is that they are often nearly-vegan to start with, so if you are adapting a recipe to fit certain food specifications (allergies, dietary needs), it's simple enough to find a recipe that will easily fit your needs.

These cookies I made, for example. They are called Nan Khatai cookies and I used the recipe found on Blend With Spices. The directions were clear and simple. The ingredients were few and readily available- the only catch was the Cardamom. I don't use cardamom often, so when I went to the store and saw that the tiny 3 ounce container was $15 I went on a mini rant to my husband in the middle of the baking aisle. He just looked at me like "uhh....." which is understandable. It's probably the same look I gave these two college girls once when they stopped me in the same baking aisle and asked me if they could just melt butterscotch chips and use it as salted caramel. Uhhhh....

My little jar of Cardamom

What I ended up doing was going to the local Co-op grocery store, where you can buy many herbs, spices, and baking needs (cocoa powder, etc.) by the ounce. They have containers or you can bring your own. They also have these little plastic bags you can use and twist tie closed, which is what I used, and which makes you feel super sketchy when you go into the store to by an ounce of cardamom which looks like some other substance, and then you leave the store just carrying around your little bag of "ground spices." Sketchtastic. Worth it, though, to only pay 92 cents for cardamom, instead of $15.

Step 1: Mix dry ingredients. Step 2: Add wet ingredients

Step 3: Drop onto cookie sheet

Anyways, these cookies have a basic recipe with few ingredients. No refrigerating the dough, no extra steps needed- just mix, bake, and done. They tasted delicious! I might use less cardamom next time, because I found the taste to be a bit overpowering. However, the almonds on top help to smooth out the taste of the cardamom, so don't skip on the nuts if you make these!


I thought I'd blog the process of these cookies, you know, step by step style. I realized as I was uploading pictures that I took really boring and non-descriptive photos of the process. I also realized I need to edit the lighting in the photos because my kitchen has this one horrible fluorescent tube light and everything in the kitchen- cabinets, appliances, counters- are an off white color, so there is little natural looking light. When I take photos without flash, they come out a little dull. I could definitely have edited these photos and skipped this whole paragraph explaining myself, but I'd rather get the post up! I'm sure I'll regret that later...Enjoy for now!

And, voila! Cookies.