Oh, Christmas Tree... Help!

[alkane22]

Long story super-short, my mom and I moved into a new house, and it's much smaller than our last home. We've no place to put our normal Christmas tree.

My idea: DIY!

I would really like to make sort of a mobile that we could hang from our ceiling... probably from paper. My mom actually had the idea to make a paper tree to put on the wall and to use playbills as ornaments. Of course, that would be cool, but I just think the idea of a "floating" Christmas tree is neat...

Any ideas?

[Dredlabel]

My family hangs a real Christmas tree upside-down from the ceiling every year. My dad and brother made some sort of pulley system for it. Not really sure on the details, but it looks amazing. The star at the "top" ends up being at about eye level, and we have non-breakable ornaments and candy canes that we can just reach up and grab. It looks fantastic, and takes up no floor space! So it is doable, if you can figure out how to rig it.

[cutestoneofall090]

ooooh! that sounds like a good idea! my family has like the same problem(but its just a vacation home) and we're spending christmas there, so we just bought a smaller tree. I should tell my mom about this....

[alkane22]

My family hangs a real Christmas tree upside-down from the ceiling every year. My dad and brother made some sort of pulley system for it. Not really sure on the details, but it looks amazing. The star at the "top" ends up being at about eye level, and we have non-breakable ornaments and candy canes that we can just reach up and grab. It looks fantastic, and takes up no floor space! So it is doable, if you can figure out how to rig it.

That's amazing!

[houdinizucchini]

One of my friends has the same problem, their house is so not big enough for a tree. So, they took their presents and made it into the tree. Big and wide stuff on the bottom, progressively getting smaller towards the top. They wrapped the stack in tinsel, put snowglobes all over it as ornaments and a star-shaped box was on top. The presents were wrapped in green paper. It was actually pretty cool.

[alkane22]

One of my friends has the same problem, their house is so not big enough for a tree. So, they took their presents and made it into the tree. Big and wide stuff on the bottom, progressively getting smaller towards the top. They wrapped the stack in tinsel, put snowglobes all over it as ornaments and a star-shaped box was on top. The presents were wrapped in green paper. It was actually pretty cool.

Whoa. That kinda just blew my mind.

[houdinizucchini]

Whoa. That kinda just blew my mind.

Is that a good thing or a bad thing? Lol

[ladyjanewriter]

There's this cool old-skool project where you can make a "tree" from newspaper that's all rolled up in these long cone-like shapes, and the fringey part is the tree.

Let me see if I can find it. Hold on.

Yes! I found it on Mr. Roger's website! That's right, Mr. Rogers made a newspaper tree once as a project on his show. Yay, Fred Rogers. <3

http://pbskids.org/rogers/R_house/object12.htm

It looks like there's a whole bunch of craft projects there.

[alkane22]

Is that a good thing or a bad thing? Lol
Ha! Good.

[alkane22]

There's this cool old-skool project where you can make a "tree" from newspaper that's all rolled up in these long cone-like shapes, and the fringey part is the tree.

Let me see if I can find it. Hold on.

Yes! I found it on Mr. Roger's website! That's right, Mr. Rogers made a newspaper tree once as a project on his show. Yay, Fred Rogers. <3

http://pbskids.org/rogers/R_house/object12.htm

It looks like there's a whole bunch of craft projects there.

Coolness! Thanks much!


Oh!... And do you know why Mr Rogers wore those cartigans for which he is so famous?

[saintlike_ontheoutside]

No, why?

[alkane22]

No, why?

I apologize. I completely have to backtrack. I foolishly believed a rumor that I had been told. Rumor has it that he was a sniper in the military and the cartigans covered his tattoos.

I did a bit of research, and it's a big lie.

He was never enlisted. He was an ordaned minister, for Pete's sake. He wore them as a display of formality.

My apologies that the reason wasn't much more exciting.:(

[houdinizucchini]

I apologize. I completely have to backtrack. I foolishly believed a rumor that I had been told. Rumor has it that he was a sniper in the military and the cartigans covered his tattoos.

I did a bit of research, and it's a big lie.

He was never enlisted. He was an ordaned minister, for Pete's sake. He wore them as a display of formality.

My apologies that the reason wasn't much more exciting.:(


That's a lie? :O I'VE BEEN LIED TO! And I'm a liar!

Aaaah!

[alkane22]

That's a lie? :O I'VE BEEN LIED TO! And I'm a liar!

Aaaah!

I know, right?! After my research I felt like I needed to go to Confessional... and I'm not even Catholic.

[ladyjanewriter]

Hee. I was soooo confused until I looked back a page. No, Mr. Rogers wasn't in the military.

I do know he was a vegetarian, and had the worst farts, though. I saw some special about him after he passed away, and one of the staffers was giggling about that memory. I'm pretty sure they said "flatulence" though, b/c it was PBS.

[alkane22]

Faltulence... Hee hee... I'm such a four-year-old.

[alkane22]

So I've been thinkning... and I'm kinda leaning toward a really simple design.

I thought that I might make the paper snowflake that is under the Christmas party blog and simply attach a green sprial to suggest a tree. I would probably have to secure the spiral shape by running thread across the center of it... if that makes any sence at all...

Thoughts?

[NoGoodUserName]

Alright, well I have no idea baout the whole "floating treee" idea, but I do have another idea that'd spice up the idea for putting one on the wall.

Find the biggest construction paper possible (or poster board if you have a heavy duty stapler). The draw out the shape of a Christmas tree using as much of the paper as possible ('cause you want it to be kinda big, right?).
It's best to cut out the shape with the paper folded in half, because you want a crease through the middle anyway. Next, you'd take all the peices of paper you cut out (at least three looks best, really), and staple them together along the middle crease. This way, you have layers, like a real Christmas tree! Then you could probably hang it with some duct tape, or mounting tapeif you have any.

Once you're done with that, you can totally decorate it with more DIYs. Make some cute ornaments, or put up pictures from old Christmas times, etc.

[alkane22]

Alright, well I have no idea baout the whole "floating treee" idea, but I do have another idea that'd spice up the idea for putting one on the wall.

Find the biggest construction paper possible (or poster board if you have a heavy duty stapler). The draw out the shape of a Christmas tree using as much of the paper as possible ('cause you want it to be kinda big, right?).
It's best to cut out the shape with the paper folded in half, because you want a crease through the middle anyway. Next, you'd take all the peices of paper you cut out (at least three looks best, really), and staple them together along the middle crease. This way, you have layers, like a real Christmas tree! Then you could probably hang it with some duct tape, or mounting tapeif you have any.

Once you're done with that, you can totally decorate it with more DIYs. Make some cute ornaments, or put up pictures from old Christmas times, etc.

Beautiful!