Sonya Nimri

Top your tree with this glistening golden burst of... clothespins! What You Need: Pack of Clothespins from the .99 cents store Hot glue gun Plastic candy cane container or other 1 inch tube with one closed end. Gold spray paint Scissors to cut bottom 3.5 inches off of candy cane or tube. Directions: Undo clothes pins and glue each pair back to back. Glue approximately 30 pairs together.  They will naturally form a round. 3.  Cut the bottom 3.5 inches of your plastic candy cane off with scissors and glue to the back of the star. 4.  Spray paint gold or leave au natural.  I tried gold leafing it but I think the spray paint is easier and gives it a more even coat.

Making a birdhouse for a this cute bird is a great way to reuse a clean yogurt cup and some scrap fabric and decorate your tree all at once. What You Need: A plastic yogurt cup A small piece of cardboard for the base Hot glue gun A little bird- adopted at the craft store Loose bark- this is from a eucalyptus tree in our front yard that sheds bark but birch will do for those in colder climates Scissors Scrap fabric Cord Hole punch or awl (to make the hole where you hang the loop from). Directions: Cut hole in yogurt cup that looks like a doorway so the bird can sit there. Glue a little bark to the inside of the cup where you see into the doorway. Glue bark to the outside of the cup covering the entire cup and the cardboard base.   Poke a hole in the top of the bark and run a piece of string doubled through the hole and make a knot inside underneath the hole. Attach a few scraggly pieces of scrap fabric to the inside floor of the doorway. Glue the bird insid...