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Christmas, Deck the Halls, Home Decor

Mini Christmas Topiaries + Mini Banner {using old book pages!}

by Brooke · on December 6, 2010 · 24 Comments ·

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Okay. You are probably going to make fun of me because I’m back with yet another tutorial featuring OLD BOOK PAGES and a “trash to treasure” project! I told you those old book pages were my latest infatuation (don’t tell my Photoshop, he’ll get jealous). Soon my whole house is going to be covered head to toe with old book pages. 😉 I knew they would make a great Christmas project but I had a hard time deciding exactly what to do. Then it came to me as I was rummaging through my junk craft supplies.

Mini Christmas Topiaries and a Mini Banner! Love it.


The greatest thing? This project basically cost me nothing. I used stuff I’ve had laying around forever, and I had the old book (that cost $1) with lots of pages left over from my daughter’s birthday party decorations. I love the vintage-y vibe old book pages give. And I love all things “mini” too. This is a win-win situation for me. Oh, wait until you see what the bottom “stands” are made from. Talk about trash to treasure 🙂

Supplies for my Mini Topiaries:

  • 3 inch styrofoam balls (I used 2 for this project)
  • 2 wooden skewers (like the kind you use for kabobs)
  • pages from an old book
  • hot glue gun and glue sticks

First I took a styrofoam ball and stuck the skewer into it. Then I covered the ball with strips of the old paper, using my glue gun. You could paint the skewer if you wanted, or wrap it with ribbon. I just kept it plain.

Next I used my 2.5 inch circle punch and cut out a whole bunch of circles out of the old book pages. Then, using the same technique that I used on my Vintage Square Halloween Wreath, I wrapped the circles one at a time around the end of a pencil and hot glued it to the styrofoam ball.

I continued hot gluing the bunched up circles on the ball until it was completely covered. It totally doesn’t have to be perfect. Voila! The top of the topiary was born.

If you wanted to, you could leave out the skewer and just add some ribbon to the top and hang the topiary ball as an ornament on your tree.

Mini Topiary Stands

So, I admitted once to saving things (things that normal people would throw away, I know,  I’m weird) to use for future projects. I had saved some empty frosting containers and found they were perfect (and FREE!) as little stands to hold the mini topiaries.

I gave them a pretty makeover by covering them with my favorite wrapping paper from Hobby Lobby (they have awesome wrapping paper there and I got it for about $3 a few weeks ago), some ribbon and some of the old book pages. I cut a little hole in the top of the lid to stick the skewer into. Then I added a bow for a finishing touch.

Here are the two of them during the day before I added the mini banner.

You could use other things to hold the topiaries, such as small buckets with foam inside, or small blocks of wood with a small hole drilled in the top to hold the skewer.

Mini “Peace” Banner

mini-lollies-banner

For the mini banner I made these darling little “lollies” out of old book pages as well. There are lots of great tutorials all over the web, Kami at No Biggie has a great one. I used some more cute Hobby Lobby wrapping paper and a small scallop punch to make the centers of the lollies. I cut out the word “peace” out of brown cardstock with my Silhouette machine and glued them onto the lollies. Then I strung them on a thin piece of jute string and used toothpicks to attach the banner to the backs of the topiaries. I think it would be fun to add some glitter too!

I think they turned out cute and add a fun, festive touch to my Christmas decor! Here are some night-time pictures of where they will be living for the month of December–in my living room!

Have fun “decking the halls” in your home! Happy holidays and Merry Christmas! xoxo

About Brooke

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Comments

  1. Diana @ The Girl Creative says

    December 6, 2010 at 6:04 am

    You girls are killing me! lol You keep giving me more and more ideas of things to make (and I have no time!! lol) Totally love both projects. They look great together on your shelf. 🙂

    Reply
    • Brooke says

      December 6, 2010 at 3:44 pm

      Thank you so much Diana!! I don’t have time for any of this either, lol!!!

      Reply
  2. Heather I says

    December 6, 2010 at 7:21 am

    This is an awesome idea!! I love all the recycling going on here!! …and the book pages – swoooon!!!!

    Reply
    • Brooke says

      December 6, 2010 at 3:44 pm

      Thanks Heather!!! Recycling is fun. 🙂

      Reply
  3. M says

    December 6, 2010 at 7:27 am

    Tim Holtz also makes a die for the Big Shot that punches those “lollies” out for you. All you have to do is fold them and glue them together. Ask your local scrapbook store!

    Reply
    • Brooke says

      December 6, 2010 at 3:45 pm

      Interesting! Good to know, thanks for commenting!

      Reply
  4. Michele @ The Scrap Shoppe says

    December 6, 2010 at 9:17 am

    This is super cute! I think I might be most impressed by the topiary bases. lol! I have to make some frosted cookies this weekend, and you can bet I’ll be keeping the empty icing containters!

    Reply
    • Brooke says

      December 6, 2010 at 3:45 pm

      That’s my job, recruiting more crafty people to save their garbage for craft projects! 🙂

      Reply
  5. Tanya says

    December 6, 2010 at 10:18 am

    This is so cute, and a great way to repurpose stuff…LOVE IT!

    Reply
    • Brooke says

      December 6, 2010 at 3:46 pm

      Thanks a ton, Tanya!! I’ve been on a “repurposing” kick for several months now!!! 🙂

      Reply
  6. Ellie g says

    December 6, 2010 at 10:49 am

    Brooke! Holy wowzers! I love this! I adore the choices for papers on the containers. And you KNOW I have a few frosting containers around. And unfortunately, they’re usually empty. Well, unfortunately for my waistline….but super useful for this project. 🙂 I love this. So festive! Way to go!

    Reply
    • Brooke says

      December 6, 2010 at 3:46 pm

      Thank you Lara!!

      Reply
  7. Darcy says

    December 6, 2010 at 11:50 am

    I just love this project! I have to tell you that I subscribe to the posts via email and they come in a format that is easy to print up. I am printing and placing my favorite projects in to a holiday craft binder. Just want to say thanks for all your creativity and how much I am enjoying your blog.

    Reply
    • Brooke says

      December 6, 2010 at 3:47 pm

      Darcy, thank you for your sweet comment! And what a great idea to create a craft binder! Love it.

      Reply
  8. Heidi says

    December 6, 2010 at 9:22 pm

    I think my daughters would have so much fun making these! They are just darling!

    Reply
  9. Jenny says

    December 6, 2010 at 10:12 pm

    So so cute Brooke, I loooove it! You are so creative!!!

    Reply
  10. Monica says

    December 7, 2010 at 12:10 am

    LOVE this! Soooo adorable! I’m loving book pages too…i have 2 boxes of old hard cover readers digest books in my closet!!! 🙂 …{maybe 3, lol}

    Reply
  11. haley davis says

    December 7, 2010 at 9:46 am

    Oh what a great idea! Love it!

    Reply
  12. Becky says

    December 7, 2010 at 7:25 pm

    Brooke, Brooke, Brooke! Will you just stop. These are too dang cute and I just love the mini-ness of it all!

    Reply
  13. Christine says

    January 29, 2011 at 10:17 pm

    Hey Brooke, I saw this on Etsy and thought of all your cute book page projects.
    Thought you might enjoy 🙂 Thanks for all the fun crafty ideas.

    http://www.etsy.com/listing/62605332/oldbook-japanese-masking-tape-set-of-3

    Reply
    • Brooke says

      January 30, 2011 at 10:04 am

      Christine, those are really cool! Thanks for sending me the link, how sweet of you! 🙂

      Reply
  14. Suzan says

    November 18, 2011 at 7:41 am

    love your stuff. Brings back memories. When I was in Kindergarten, mom helped my 2 sisters and me make topiaries for our teachers for christmas.
    Thanks for sharing

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Tweets that mention Mini Christmas Topiaries + Mini Banner {using old book pages!} -- Topsy.com says:
    December 6, 2010 at 5:53 pm

    […] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Elsa Guevara, The Crafting Chicks. The Crafting Chicks said: Brooke's decking her halls with these cute topiaries and a mini banner made from old book pages! http://fb.me/JKX1QAvA […]

    Reply
  2. A Fabulous & Fancy 5th Birthday Party {Candy Buffet, Lollies and Pennants, oh my!} says:
    January 23, 2013 at 1:11 pm

    […] loving the mini pennant craze that’s been all over blogland. I love mini things (remember my mini topiaries? Made from the same old book, ha ha!). So for the cake “topper” I decided to make my […]

    Reply

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