O Christmas Tree! O Christmas Tree! Thy leaves are made of Ginger Chew Wrappers!

I consider December to be the month for crafting.  The fall is full of crafting occasions, but with Thanksgiving and an additional 5 pounds under our belts, it’s time to kick it into high gear.  With parties to throw (and attend), gifts to give (and receive) and halls to deck, there really is no better month than this!

I don’t like to rush the holiday season as it should be pondered and relished, but with only 3 weekends in December and many obligations to boot, I had to schedule my Annual Holiday Craft Brunch for this coming weekend.  In preparation for the party and in response to the Leonard Lopate Craft Contest, I created a simple decoration from a stand-by treat in my apartment, Ginger Chews.

A delicate, whimsical creation made from things found around the home and office, Readers, please put your hands together for the Ginger Chew Christmas Tree!

The list of materials are as follows:

2 Keurig Individual Coffee Plastic filters

1 Yellow 8oz. Solo Cup

6 Pennies

Scrap of used aluminum foil (clean as you can get it)

Scrap of festive fabric

Cinnamon Stick (funkified makes it more realistic and funkified means it's been in your Gram's pantry for a very long time)

Chunk of Styrofoam

Ginger People Ginger Chew wrappers including inner wax paper

Hot glue

This was a quick and easy project that could be done with all sorts of candy wrappers, and I know plenty of people who will have a plethora of them during this holiday season.

First, take one of the Keurig plastic cups and put some hot glue at the bottom.  Drop 3 pennies into glue, cover with more glue, and drop the remaining pennies on top.  

Next, press the aluminum foil into the cup and create a hole just big enough to fit the cinnamon stick in it.  For aesthetic purposes, I covered the foil with the wax paper from the ginger chews then glued the cinnamon stick into the hole.  Finally, I covered the outside of the plastic cup with a scrap of festive holiday fabric.

To fashion the foundation for the leaves, I cut about an inch off of the Solo cup and glued the other Keurig plastic cup on top to create a semi-cone shape.   

I twisted the ginger chew wrappers from the center to create little buds and glued them onto the cups until it was completely covered.  

To attach the tree to the cinnamon stick, I wedged a small block of Styrofoam into the Solo cup and carved out a hole for the stick.  A dab of glue at the top end of the stick before placing the tree on top and that’s all there is to it!

Next week, I'll reveal the wondrous creations from the Craft Brunch.  

Until then, onward Crafters!