Christmas Decorating On A Budget {$4 Tree Skirt}

 

A $4.00 tree skirt? Oh yes, folks, it is possible, and that's just what I did last year. I didn't get to share it back then, so I'm sharing it now!

It looks so pretty under our tree...

I won't lie and say it's super easy to make, because as I recall it took me a while to get it quite right, but it's worth the extra work if you need to save a little money this year!

How I made it:

(I'm writing these steps from what memory, so if you have questions about a step or it seems I've missed something, please feel free to ask)

First head to your local Dollar Tree and buy 4 of these table runners. I did see them this year, so they still carry them. 

Cut each runner in half to make two pieces with pointed ends (you should have a total of eight once you cut all four runners). I also cut the tassels off.

This next part is the most difficult. 

Arrange your pieces like in the picture above pinning them together on the sides. I did not pin them together corner to corner but left a small gap toward the pointed end. You'll pin more fabric toward the top and taper down to almost no fabric toward the pointed ends.  Be sure to leave one side open, so you can get the skirt around your tree.

I had to do some trimming here too. You may not need the full length of each piece of table runner depending on the size of your tree/how wide you want the tree skirt.

Sew each side together where you pinned them.

Trim an excess fabric and zig zag the edges. I didn't actually do this, but it's a good idea if you want the skirt to last a while.

Iron your seams.

Hem the top edge (the part that goes right next the the tree).

Optional: you could add some type of ribbon as a closure if you like. I didn't.

Wrap it snugly around your tree!

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Holiday Hiatus Roundup

I've been on a bit of a holiday hiatus as far as the blogging was concerned, but I've still been creating! I think I'll share some more detailed versions at some point, but in the meantime, here's a glimpse of what I've been up to:

When I saw this Thanksgiving advent calendar at Lil Luna (guest poster Rachel from Family Ever After), I just had to do my own version. I don't have nearly as many Thanksgiving/Autumn decorations as I do Christmas ones, so I jumped at this idea.

I'd never made a sock monkey before, but when I saw this post about making sock monkeys for wildfire victims in Texas at Dollar Store Crafts, I decided to give it a try. I followed this tutorial, and I think it turned out pretty well. This little guy is now in the arms of some little one in Texas. I love the thought of that!

My new tree skirt was probably my favorite holiday project. Every year I say I'm going to buy a tree skirt, but I can't every bring myself to pay for one (some of them are very expensive). One day I was in my local dollar store and came accross table runners that just screamed "tree skirt", so I bought four of them and voila! A $4.00 tree skirt! It's much better than the piece of fleece I was using before.

The last project I'm going to share is my card holder. It's just a piece of cardboard (from a diaper box!) covered in some fleece and ribbon. I tacked down the ribbon in places on the front to create "pockets" of sorts for the cards.


They were fun projects, and I'm looking forward to getting them back out again next year. I hope you're inspired to take time to create some of your own projects!




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