Hi there!

I took a short break from card-making to create these sweet little Christmas trees to display on our fireplace mantle. Our mantle is only 3 inches wide, which poses a bit of challenge when looking for decorations that can be displayed in such a small space. So, I did what every crafter does – I searched Pinterest for options and came across this idea for accordion-fold trees! I thought they were so cute!

And, they are super easy to make!

I used 65 lbs cardstock for these trees because of all the folding and the hole punch. I did try 100# but it was quite a bit harder to work with. For each tree, I took a full sheet (8.5 x 11 inches) and scored it every ¾ inch across the short side. I stamped the new Christmas Stars background stamp from Simon Says Stamp a couple of times down each sheet of paper using VersaMark ink, then heat embossed with clear embossing powder. You could certainly use white embossing powder if that is what you have on hand.

I then created my triangle shapes for the trees – some tall and skinny, some short and fat, and some fairly balanced. I cut the shapes using my paper trimmer. I stuck to straight edges for my trees but I think you could use a pinking sheers or a decorative edge scissors to give the edges a bit of whimsy if you want. Once my trees were cut, I ink-blended them using different shades of green and cream with my oxide inks. I did a quick spray with water for some distressing – but not too much since I was only using 65# cardstock and it doesn’t hold up to water well.

Next, I folded the trees into an accordion shape, and, while folded together into a strip, I used my hole punch to punch a hole through all the layers. This part took a bit of strength. I then threaded a bamboo skewer through the holes and fanned out the tree. You’ll want to make sure that the skewer is behind the tree at the very top. I glued the top of the tree to the skewer to hold it in place, then added a few sparkly gems here and there to the tree for some shine. I secured the skewer into a wooden base but you could use foam (which would be a lot less work, in my opinion) – all you need is something to hold the tree upright. And Ta! Da! Cute Christmas trees for the mantle! Or anywhere, really!

I hope you liked this project and that you get some time to do something wonderfully creative today!