Christmas in a Minute: Easy Ribbon Trees

The holiday season is busy enough without spending hours crafting decor and DIY gifts, so a few friends and I created some super simple holiday ideas for you that we’ve called Christmas in a Minute.  Have a few minutes?  Great, then you can create these easy ribbon looped Christmas trees that make perfect holiday decor for tables, mantels, buffets, and even window sills.  It can be made in about 15 minutes– trust me, I had literally 15 minutes to whip this up as my husband got the kids dressed for a SUPER FUN trip to the hardware store (if you have a 3 and 5 year old, you KNOW how SUPER FUN a trip to the hardware store can be!)

There’s actually two versions of the ribbon trees.  The first is simply wrapping cardboard cones with ribbon trim, like so:

I’ll admit I got the idea for the second style while browsing West Elm last month.

I adapted it a little, choosing to invert the ribbon loop and using a gold and white color scheme.

The project used a cardboard cone from the craft store and two rolls of ribbon.  Plus a hot glue gun.  And scissors.  That’s it!

I started by figuring out how large I wanted each ribbon loop, and then cut my two rolls of ribbon to that size.  You may want your top loops to be a little smaller, so adjust the size accordingly.

Start by forming the loop.  Use a dot of glue in between the two ribbons, and then a dot on the back.  Use a low-temp glue gun for this if you can.  Mine was high-temp, but I’m pretty sure my fingertips are burned off permanently at this point.

And also?  Mommy needs a manicure.

Attach to the bottom of the cone.  Repeat all the way around.  I did the first row all in white, then a random alternating pattern of white and gold– 2/3 of the tree is white grosgrain ribbon, and 1/3 is gold.  I promise I didn’t actually calculate that, I just know my spool of white ribbon was 18 feet long and the gold was 9 feet long.  HEY!  I DID MATH!  {double check my numbers, I stink at math}.

Then continue in circles around the tree, moving higher.

Finish off with your smaller loops.  I didn’t do anything fancy at the top, but you could attach a star or small ornament if you wish.

As for the trim wrapped trees, for those I raided my box of trim.

Grabbed a few favorites, including sequined trim, a fuzzy gray trim, and a thick candy-cane looking trim.

My daughter told me she loves the pink ones but the gray was was yucky.  I kinda like the gray one, it reminds me of a muppet.

I’ve put them all around the house.

Can’t wait to share the secret project going on in the background of this photo.  But I have to wait until Monday.  It’ll be worth it, promise.

Easy Christmas ideas are my thing, here’s two more from the archives that take under 5 minutes each:

 

Folded Paper Trees

 

 

Glittered Pinecones

 

and this one takes longer than 5 minutes, but if you’re going to make it, you’ll want to do it this week because December is almost here!

 

Family Photo Advent Calendar

 

Here’s more Christmas in a Minute ideas from my blogging buddies.  Aren’t they clever?

With less time between Thanksgiving and Christmas this year, I hope you can use these simple and easy holiday ideas.  Did any catch your eye?

 Easy Ribbon Trees is linking up with:

{ Remodelaholic | Liz Marie Blog |Serenity Now | Made in a Day | The Party Bunch |Work it Wednesday | Catch as Catch Can | Songbird | Fabulously Frugal Thursday}