Friday 30 November 2012

Tutorial - Scrappy Felt Christmas Trees

 



Even the smallest lengths of ribbon are too good to waste, so dig around to see what you can find in our bins to make these Christmas Tree Decorations.


What you will need for this Tutorial:
Sheet of Green Felt or other non fraying fabric
Scraps of Brown Felt or other non fraying fabric
Old Cereal Box
Hot Glue Gun or a decent white glue
Scissors
A roll of 1/4 inch Ribbon
Scraps of assorted Lace/Ribbon/Trim of all sorts
Sturdy Needle
Chop stick/Toothpick/Skewer (will save you from burning your fingers if using Hot Glue gun)


1. Start out by cutting a template for your Trees from your old Cereal box, mine were roughly 3 inches high by 2 inches wide you could do them all free hand but as you'll need two triangles for each decoration you want them to match. Cut two per decoration.


2. Now for the fun part, take out your ribbon scraps and decorate your trees. Glue them down and leave a bit either side to wrap around the felt piece.

3. When all ribbons are stuck down, flip over the piece and glue down the ends of the ribbon. Using the toothpick/Chopstick/Skewer push down each ribbon end until they are secure.

Here you see the messy back part and the front looking all tidy with loose ends tucked away.

4. Next up cut a piece of Brown felt for the tree trunk roughly 1/2 inch by 4 inches, add glue along the back and fold it in half lengthways.

5. Stick the tree trunk to the messy side of your Tree piece and cut another card triangle just a hair smaller than your felt piece. If you made a template at the beginning use this to trace around then cut it smaller, trace the new smaller piece for other decorations, you need one for each tree. Take an undecorated triangle of Green felt and stick your smaller card triangle on to it, there should be a gap around it.
6. Glue both pieces together, making sure you seal up the edges (glue then press together) to stop the card showing. Next up take a ribbon, thread your sturdy needle and pierce the top of the Tree (making sure you are poking the needle through the card), pull the ribbon all the way through and tie in a double knot. Knot the ends furthest way from the tree together to then hang your tree decs.


Done.



Other Ideas:

Make these as cute Gift Toppers, with Ink stamp the persons name across one of the ribbons. 
Add a Card stand to the back and they could be Place cards.
or leave as is but attach to the front of a card (using foam adhesive tape) for a reusable Xmas memento.

- Emma (Volunteer) 

Join us as we go forth and REUSE!


Hey! Thanks for stopping by. Welcome to the first post of Reuse-it Edmonton blog. We are a bunch of passionate reusers working to provide a digital space to promote reuse and share stories about the City of Edmonton Reuse Centre. 

The Reuse Centre 
Let’s start off with a little bit about  the Reuse Centre. The centre is a facility that promotes reusing in Edmonton by accepting items that aren't accepted elsewhere and selling them to individuals and organizations for a small flat rate fee. We are all pretty proud of the fact that we have diverted over 560 tons of items since 2007! 
A happy customer
Over the years, we have also become sort of a community hub in Edmonton. We have customers that drop by every day to browse through our store, chat with staff and sometimes let us know what they do with the treasures they pick up here. We have an active and essential troop of volunteers, made up of citizens, community groups and businesses, who help with sorting, educating, promoting and touring.

Walter, one of our volunteers working hard!
So, in essence, this blog is going to try to expand our community by connecting on-line with those passionate about reuse.  Our goal is to provide a space for people to learn and share. So stay tuned for posts that highlight reuse tips, reuse crafting ideas, reuse news, customer and volunteer profiles and anything else reuse.
We value your input and welcome any comments*, feedback, suggestions and/or ideas!  If you would like to connect with us, leave a comment or e-mail us.

In honour of this new blog, we have devised a contest for our readers. Answer the question: What ways do you reuse during the holidays? Your name will be entered in a draw for a $5 gift card to the Reuse Centre. Please submit your answer by commenting on this post. Deadline is December 16th. In the meantime, thanks for stopping by and happy reusing!

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- Hayley (Staff)