Oh, Christmas Tree (And Another, And Another!)—Building My Tiny Forest

Welcome back to Fran’s Friends! If you caught Part One of my recycling series, you know I’m on a mission to turn everyday household items into holiday magic. Today, I’m taking you under the tree—literally!

Every year, I have a special tradition: I set up my son’s old train set and my puppy’s chew-toy train around the base of our Christmas tree. To make it feel like a real winter wonderland, I’ve started a “mini-forest” collection. Every single year, I make two new decorative trees to add to the display.

Looking for some “tree-spo” for your own home? Here are a few of my favorite methods from over the years!

1. The Rustic “Seaside” Tree

This style is perfect if you have a stash of old fabrics and vacation memories.

• The Base: A simple Styrofoam cone.
• The “Needles”: I took some old bed sheeting, dyed it green, and then tore it into strips. Gluing those raw-edged strips onto the cone gives it a lovely, textured, organic look.
• The Sparkle: Since I love the beach, I embellished these with tiny shells I’ve collected over the years, along with ribbons, garlands, and little plastic birds.
• The Finisher: I topped one with a festive ornament featuring a tiny dove. It’s a wonderful way to mix nature with holiday cheer!

2. The Rick-Rack & Pom-Pom Tree

If you want something bright, graphic, and super fun to make with kids, this is the one.

• The Method: Paint a Styrofoam cone with a base of green acrylic paint.
• The Detail: Once dry, I glued on colorful braiding and rick-rack in spirals.
• The Bling: I added little plastic rings (check out my website for that tutorial!) and bright pom-poms.
• Pro-Tip: I noticed the bottom of my older trees looked a bit “raw.” This year, I’m adding felt circles to the bases to give them a much more professional, finished look!

3. The “Lisa Pay” Stiffened Felt Tree

A few years ago, I followed a wonderful pattern by Lisa Pay. These trees are elegant and have a great “designer” feel.

• The Secret: Use “felt fabric”—which is just two pieces of felt fused together with Heat n Bond. It makes the felt stiff enough to stand tall.
• The Stitching: I used a shiny embroidery floss to do a blanket stitch around the edges.
• The Base: I upcycled a small plastic cup by covering it in shiny foam paper to act as the trunk.
• The Signature: Of course, I had to add my signature hearts and some pom-poms to tie them into the rest of my collection.

4. The “I-Cord” Coil (And the Great Malfunction!)

Last year, I tried something new using my French corder. I made long lengths of wool “I-cord” and threaded wire through them to coil them into tree shapes.

The Lesson Learned: My wonderful husband bought me wire for this project, but it turned out to be soft soldering wire rather than sturdy crafting wire. I set them up under the tree, and by the next morning… total malfunction! They had completely wilted under their own weight.

I laughed so hard—it looked like a scene from a cartoon! But that’s the beauty of crafting. I’m not throwing them away; I’m going to fix them this year using a “toothpick” support or a sturdier internal wire. Even a bottle cap covered in felt makes a perfect sturdy base for these types of trees.

Fran’s Top Tips for Your Mini Forest

• Theme Your Colours: I like to alternate. If one tree has a red pom-pom on top, its “partner” gets a green one. It keeps the collection looking cohesive but interesting.
• Look in Your Scrap Bin: Old sheets, leftover wool, extra buttons, and even bottle caps are all fair game.
• Don’t Fear the Flop: If your tree wilts like mine did, just call it a “malfunction,” have a laugh, and find a new way to prop it up!

I haven’t decided exactly what this year’s two new trees will look like yet, but they’ll definitely be joining the train set soon. Thanks for stopping by, and happy crafting, friends! 🎄✨