Festive Ribbon Tree

This little project is from last year, but I liked it so much I thought I'd bring it back again! I'm all about easy tabletop decorations, and this festive little ribbon tree is perfect for that. Choose ribbon colors that suit the rest of your holiday decor ~ or just go wild with it. Since these styrofoam cones come in various sizes, you could even make up a little trio of trees for your holiday table!

What you'll need ~

Styrofoam cone (I chose one that was 3-7/8" in diameter and 11-7/8" tall)
Metallic gold spray paint
2 spools of ribbon in metallic red (7/8" by 9')
2 spools of ribbon in metallic gold (7/8" by 9')

Craft/dressmaker pins (the short ones)
Hot glue
Glitter star floral pick

I was able to get everything I needed for this project at Jo-Ann: Styrofoam Cone ~ $3.19, Glittery Star Floral Pick ~ $0.69 BOGO, and Holiday Ribbon ~ $1.19 each. Everything else I had on hand already.

How to make it ~

Start off by spraying the cone with gold paint so any gaps in the ribbons won't be as noticeable. Set aside to dry thoroughly.

In the meantime, cut your ribbon into 5" lengths and heat up your glue gun. I didn't use all of the second spool of each color of ribbon, but one definitely wasn't enough to cover the larger cone I used. If you select a smaller styrofoam cone, you may not need as much ribbon.

Once your glue gun is ready, you'll want to start making your ribbon loops. Lay your ribbon face down and place a thin line of glue along one end of the ribbon. Fold the opposite end up to meet it, hold in place until the glue sets, and set the loop aside to repeat with the other ribbon lengths.

Now that you've got ribbon loops in both colors, you can start working on the tree. Choose the color you want at the base (I started with the gold). Take a loop and a craft pin and pin the ribbon in place on the cone so that the bottom of the loop is just shy of touching the table. You don't want the loop to stick out below the base of the cone because it won't sit properly on a tabletop that way. (On my cone, I pinned the top of the bottom row of loops 2-1/2" up from the base.)

Continue to pin your loops around the base until satisfied, then move on to the next row with your other ribbon color (in this case, the red). From now on, with each subsequent row as you move up the tree, I would suggest pinning the loops so that they overlap about an inch onto the row below (this covers up the pins and gives it a nice, full look).

So easy, right? Just pin your ribbons in rows of alternating colors, and voilá! You've got yourself a cute little tree. Now, for the finishing touch - the star on top!