DIY String Christmas Tree Decoration - Part 2

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Alright, here comes Part 2 of the project.  =D After letting it dry the whole night we came back downstair and took a look.  

Everything seemed stiff and holding up fine so it was time to take the paper off the cone.  I love how it still holds its shape without the cone.  We did run into some difficulty taking the cone off because the bottom of the party hat was a little sticky still where the bottom trim was originally. To remedy that just tape over it before you start your project.

So the easiest way to take the wax paper off is to go inside the cone and start peeling the wax paper away on the inside of the tree.  Handle the tree with care since it is fragile.  

Also, you will run into issues with the wax paper/glue on pieces where the string was glued directly onto the tape.  This is why it's important to have the glue and string only make direct contact with the wax paper and nothing else.  I had trouble taking the wax paper out of the tip of the tree so I made sure to add the tinsel (originally on the party hat) star on top.

I haven't tried this yet myself, but if I make a second tree I would not apply the glue onto the strings.  I would probably use a bowl and dip the strings in glue then lay them onto the cone.  That way there won't be much excess glue (shown in image below) that you will have to cut out....or pretend is snow or ice on your tree.  I would also suggest adding some soap and water to the wax paper to create a buffer and allow the wax paper to pull of more smoothly.  

Also, our bottom string failed to hold together and the bottom sagged a bit.  This was because we had poor reinforcements on the bottom.  Make sure to criss cross the embroidery floss and make V shapes to connect and create support for the tree.  None of your lines should be only parallel because they will collapse on itself.

I had a back section that was all parallel lines at the bottom and it collapsed so I remedied it with some hot glue.  Since it was only one section I decided it can be designated as the back of the tree.  No one will know.... :)  I also glued on some snowflakes to hide the hot glue streaks.

To put the snowflakes (or ornaments) on, place them where you like with some globs of hot glue. 

The first attempt at this project wasn't perfect but it was definitely a learning experience.  And the tree has it's own little personality and it's been growing on me.  :)  It's tough to do projects with no instructions so I hope this tutorial helps you on your future string christmas tree decoration.   I would love to hear back from everyone what tips and tricks they have as well!