Decorate a Faux Mini Christmas Tree with Vintage Earrings
Mini trees for the holidays are great for small spaces and small children. This year I found this 12” faux tree at the local thrift store and knew just where to use it: my son’s bedroom.
Going in, I knew I wanted this to be something we worked on together, and I also didn’t want to use expensive or easily broken glass ornaments. The solution? Old clip-on earrings! They’re easy for little hands and come in a huge variety of fun colors and shapes.
We had a bag of junk jewelry from my mom to choose from. My son chose red and gold, with hints of blue, but any colors will work. I myself am partial to silver, pink and turquoise.
For working with a child, however, you want the cheap stuff. The bigger and gaudier the better.
This huge red and gold beauty is actually plastic, but it's one of the best ornaments on the tree because it shows up so well. Thrift shops, eBay or even junk jewelry from grandma is a great source. Look for grab bags of chunky pieces—anything small or delicate will get lost.
Once your earrings are on, you can embellish with other decorations like toppers and garlands.
We finished the tree with a $2 manufactured tree-topper. It seemed a little plain, so wee added the red gingham ribbon bow for extra color. We also wound the ribbon around the tree for a garland along with gold-colored plastic beads. I found the beads at a local department store in the holiday section, but given more time I would have used some old necklaces or mardis gras beads from a thrift store instead.
My son is so proud of his little tree. He loves it, and he loves that he chose all the ornaments and did all the decorating by himself.
Of course, I'm proud, too.
This project is great for little ones, but also for your own grown-up fun. Think mini-mercury glass or vintage rhinestones on a sideboard or mantle. The possibilities are endless.
If you try our earring trick for a mini-tree in your home, let me know! I'd love to see.
Much love,
