DIY String Christmas Tree Decoration - Part 1

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UPDATE: So after finishing the project I realized that there were a lot of things I learned and wish I had known/tried earlier but didn't.  Please read both Part 1 and Part 2 completely before attempting the project on your own.  Enjoy!

Pin Rating: 2 (for original pin - hopefully with my tutorial it will make this project a 4/5 for you.)

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So today's blog post is a little different because I didn't expect it would take this long.  There is a lot of drying and waiting around involved.  This pin was shown to me by a friend and I decided to tackle this pin.  The original pin doesn't have any instructions and the link leads to what I believe is a Russian website so I figured this would be a great DIY post to get the step by step instructions out there.  I had some help on this one which made it a lot easier and fun to make.  But as you can see from the title, this is only Part 1.  I waited for the project to dry overnight and I'll be unraveling it and decorating it later today so expect to see the post up by Thursday on the completed project.

Here's what I'm using:

• Giant party hat from The Dollar Tree (Or you can use a styrofoam cone for ~$3.99)
• Tacky glue with brush
• 3 sets of embroidery floss (.40 each @ Hobby Lobby)
• Wax paper
• Scrap booking Snowflakes

*Note: The tacky glue will make your string a shade darker once it dries so keep that in mind when you pick out your colors embroidery floss.

The beauty of the party hat is that you can open it up and lay it out flat to measure your wax paper perfectly.  Measure it out and cut the piece.  Then wrap and tape it onto the cone.

So at first we tried to just wrap it around from the top but we noticed that the string wasn't looping nicely and just kind of slipping and sagging or bunching up.  So don't do that.

What you should do first is layer some tacky glue straight onto your wax paper.  This will help you keep the string in place as you wrap it around and down the cone.  You don't have to cover it completely up in glue.  We made a couple of strips down the sides and that seemed to work.

Also, when you get to your bottom, remember to make one solid straight line so that your tree can stand flat.  (It was my friend's idea and it's genius.  I probably wouldn't have thought of it myself.)

Here's the tree with all the string wrapped around it.

Once you have your floss the way you like it, take the tacky glue and brush it along each strand.  You want to make sure you do this evenly as possible since the glue is suppose to be what holds it together.

My nephew helping me brush.  :)

And then you play the waiting game for it to dry.... I applied a 2nd coat, but you might not want to do that.  Continue reading Part 2 of the String Christmas Tree Tutorial.