CHRISTMAS

 Christmas Trees

Christmas trees that will work for our dolls are as numerous as they are for humans. My glamorous assistants for this project are Jonnie and Briere. 

Snow Covered Trees 

 

The tiny trees are dollhouse trees middle sized are cake toppers and the larger trees are just shelf decorations.   

Silver Trees

The little trees are for dinner party name places. 

Fun Trees

These ones are already decorated.

Light up Trees

Great fun and good for mini dioramas.

More Trees

 

The green trees are candles.

Trees For Dressing

A Tree for All Occasions

…………………………..

What To Use And Where To Find Decorations

Tree Toppers And Dangly Things

Finding a topper can be the hardest bit, think outside of the box and look for suitable ornaments. Mostly it’s stars and angels, Jonnie has found an Angel topper that was a gift a couple of years ago from an American friend on her head is a parcel bow. Icicles and stars can be fun but whatever you use remember they need to be lightweight as Briere demonstrates. The mini baubles I found in the wrapping section have fun boxes and bows that can be made into gifts to go under your finished tree(s). The red and white decorations are from the 80’s and would give that retro look hanging from the ceiling.

Look for Dollhouse Christmas decorations they will often work as they can be on the large size for dollhouses. Beading and items for decorating parcels will work well as will craft items for decorating cards.

Tinsel and Chains And Lights

Lights are two a penny these days and can be found anywhere that Christmas goodies are sold. These ones are all battery powered.

These girls are having way too much fun demonstrating all this. Mini wired tinsel, small strings of beads, pipe cleaners if it’s small and sparkly it will most likely work!

……………………………

So now onto the HOW TO'S and maybe the HOW NOT TO'S

I have a bunch of mini trees that I thought would look good decorated. The sort of trees you would find in the cake baking department, Dollhouse or a craft store.

 

Over the years I have amassed quite a collection of bits and bobs…. beads, pompoms, sequins, diamantes and a ton of glitter. 

 

Tools Required

Craft glue and Nail Art Rhinestones Beads Gems Picking Picker Pencil Pen Tool Thingy! These pencil things are about £1 ($1) and can be found in craft store or EBay. OK, so it’s not that you can’t do this without the pencil it’s just a lot easier.

For the pompoms, larger beads etc you can use fingers but the little beads and diamantes the pencil is a big help. It has a sort of tacky nib and can pick up the little stones that fingers are just too big for. 

The pompoms I feel are a little big but hey-ho it’s got a fun look I think.

Pom Poms   

  Mini Stars

The stars are like mini sequins and can be found in craft departments

Beads

I put these mini beads on in little groups so they show up better in the first picture and added a sequin star to the top. Bigger beads are added individually and I found this little gold star in the jewelry making section at my craft store.

Glitter

Dab on the glue and leave a minute then sprinkle with glitter (I used nail art glitter as it’s very fine)

Diamantes                                

Although the sticky-back diamantes can be used they do fall off very easily so loose gems in this case work better. My mini loose gems I bought from Avon  (in the sale) are nail art gems.

When adding the tree toppers they can be a little heavy so I lay mine down propped up on a bead box to keep it flat. Above are all on the tiny trees.

Slightly Bigger Tree

For this tree I used a mix of pom poms and clear beads. I added two flat back stars to the top having glued them together first.

………………………..

Now Onto The Bigger Trees

Christmas tree decorating for dolls is very much like for humans. You can get the overdone ones, the minimalist ones, those that were done when you had drunk one too many mulled wine. The slightly off center ones done by children (very much like the mulled wine ones.) 

Oh, and don’t forget the minimalist look.

So I’m not doing any of the above. I'm going for the perfect tree, the one everybody wants LOL! Yeah, right….. but I will do my best.

If you are short of time, energy or inclination there is nothing wrong with the ready done tree

 Even a ‘finished’ tree can be jazzed up a little, I’ve added an earring to the top of this bottle brush tree.

The one below comes all finished and ready to go. It did light up but I had an oops moment and forgot to remove the batteries before packing it away. A small issue with acid and I had to cut the box off. I found this tree at a garden centre. It goes with those light up village sets. 

Oops! I forgot to include Tommy Tree in the pictures. He loves to dance but can be a right little sulk if he thinks he is being left out.

These trees are easy enough to find in DIY or craft stores.

Once you have your tree the fun begins will you go for….. 

1. A traditional tree of red, green and gold with coloured lights and tinsel? 

2. A tree to match the dolls room or your diorama?

3. What you can find in the shops or at the back of the cupboard?

Ready for decorating?

………………….

The Black And Gold Tree 

With mini balls and little ornaments I found in the dollhouse section on EBay. Present wrapping tinsel and a set of mini lights.

This back tree had a star glued to it last year so it pretty much told me what it wanted to be. Notice the little ornament glued to the star another one of those oops moments. I could cut it off but I'm happy to redress as was. 

When spreading out the branches go around the tree several times to make sure the branches are all out and have them pointing a little upwards (like on a real tree) This not only looks better but will help to hold the ornaments on.

Start with the lights best turned on and wrap the extra cable around the base. Don’t worry about the box. I will show you easy ways to disguise it at the end. Then add the tinsel if you are going to use tinsel.

Add your best ornaments first then use balls as fillers. If the tree is going against a wall no need to put anything at the back. 

Next Up A Bottle Brush Tree

This one also had a star and ornament glued to the top. Really this tree would be fine as it is but I do like my bling so I added some little extras.

Once again start with the lights. This poor old tree has been knocking around for some years and has become a little battered so I felt I needed to add a little tinsel to fill in the gaps where the tree was out of shape. My little santas were again found in the dollhouse section on EBay.

Red And Gold Tree

This tree is pretty plush so no need for extra tinsel. The lights are little Christmas trees and I kept it simple with an assortment of gold balls. I gave this tree an earring topper.

Black, Red And Silver Tree

If you want a noticeable swag in your tinsel try glitter tinsel. Bend at the ends so it can hook over the branches and lightly pinch over each branch. Work from the top downwards as you would with lights or normal tinsel. Just in case you run out (I did) do the front first and finish the back afterwards. The tree topper was a gift from last year. I also used red lights.

Traditional Tree

Yet another gift this tree comes with it’s own cones. I did think about spraying them silver or gold or giving them a sprinkle of glitter but in the end I thought if I left them as is I can change the tree colours easier. You could of course leave the tree as is and It would look fine. But not me I need my fancy bits!

TIP: Hoop the end of the lights so they stay put at the top of the tree.

After stringing up the lights I added a string of fake mini lights 

The bows started life on Christmas crackers (see you can find stuff anywhere) The heads? Sorry I have no idea where they came from but they are fun and for both the bows and the heads I just sat them on the tree.

When A Tree Goes Wrong

A diamante belt as a decoration

This tree is a strange one. The branches are thin and the tree is very lightweight. The balls are too big and over balance the tree. Nothing about this tree looks right. The balance is all important when dressing a tree.

Little Silver Tree

This tree I went for less is more. The decorations are Dollhouse and the lights are seed lights on silver. These little balls have such a tiny string on them they would never hang on the tree. So I used some jewelry wire (silver to match the tree) This one is very thin and can be cut with scissors but if the wire is thicker you will need wire cutters. 

Others that I have are already on a gold string. If I had more time (inclination) I would cut the strings and use the wire so the dangles are closer to the branch and not so… well dangly!

The topper I attached with blue-tack.

Pink And Purple Tree

For this tree I used purple gift tinsel white lights and hand made decorations. I love these. They were a gift from a few years back, for the topper I used a large earring.

How To Make Your Own Decorations

What you will need

Earring hooks and/or Earring pins 

Jewelry wire

Scissors

Jewelry pliers

Beads and/or old earrings

Old broken earring(s) thread with wire twist at end 

 

Simple just hook on the tree. Look for cheap earrings in places like Claire’s, junk, second hand stores or your jewelry box. 

Use a jewelry pin and add bead/s. Then using jewelry pliers bend end into hook

Wire… Cut wire about 2 inches long, thread bead to centre and give wire a twist. 

Pinch wire together and thread beads

Twist wire into a circle, wires do not need to be perfect as you won't be able to see them on the tree

A few beads that I found that I think would look good on a tree. The little metal ones on the right with a bit of a fiddle could even fit onto lights maybe?

When making your own decorations the world is your Lobster!

A few ideas on how to hide those light boxes

In a box

Under a tree skirt, this one was a gift but try Christmas stores, DIY shops or Craft shops. 

Or simply stand the tree on it

Parcel ideas

These are for hanging on trees just cut of the little hanging threads (can be reused when hanging your homemade baubles)

I collect little boxes from all over any small box can be made to work, just add a bow!

The two blue boxes I just added a small bow (above) If gift wrapping make sure the pattern is in scale. I had a small piece of paper left over that I rolled to look like paper waiting to be used.

A Few Doll And Tree Displays From Past Years

Below some pictures of a couple of trees in their homes

Happy Decorating and I hope I’ve been able to give you a few ideas