Getting ready for the holiday? Looking for interesting do-it-yourself gifts, souvenirs and interior decorations? Read how to make a Christmas tree out of cardboard. You will have many new ideas for creating simple products that can be made with your child, as well as complex large objects for room decor.
How to make a Christmas tree from cardboard with your own hands
There are a lot of ways to manufacture this festive object. There are options for performing meter-long floor decorations or small gifts that can be hung on a wall or put on a table. All materials used are affordable and inexpensive, and handwork gives the things done a special highlight and beauty.
If you need to make souvenirs in large quantities, but you absolutely do not know how to make a Christmas tree from cardboard and paper quickly, choose the methods that are indicated at the beginning. So, below is a fairly large list of possible options for performing Christmas trees:
- flat in the shape of a triangle or with tiers of branches;
- bulk cardboard glued from three or more cut parts;
- voluminous with an openwork pattern;
- accordion folded triangle strung on a rod;
- volumetric prefabricated template with slots;
- in the form of a cardboard cone glued with elements using the quilling technique ;
- special circles bent on a rod;
- a cone decorated with wrapping paper or wallpaper;
- the same form glued with twisted cut circles from magazines;
- a pyramid or cone with holes and bulbs;
- longline construction made of cardboard trapezoid boxes;
- "skeleton" of cardboard sticks;
- cardboard base, decorated with loops or strips of paper and plastic bottles;
- design, when circles of fleece are decorated with a white thread-grass imitating a garland or frost on a cardboard cone;
- cone wrapped in spiral tinsel or decorated with rain.
The list includes those options where cardboard is both the basis and decor of the Christmas tree, that is, it remains visible. However, it often performs only the function of the frame, when it is completely covered with cones, sweets, buttons, beads, elements in the kanzashi technique and other decorations.
Tools and materials
Before you begin to study the sections that tell you how to make a Christmas tree from cardboard, you should look at the list of required fixtures and what you need to purchase, except for the main material. By the way, it also happens to be of different density and structure. In some cases, it is more convenient to use colored cardboard for children's creativity, in others packaging is suitable. If possible, it is worth trying a special designer cardboard, which looks like very thick paper with a metallized or pearlescent texture.
So, you need the following:
- pencil, ruler;
- scissors, knife;
- PVA glue or thermal gun;
- templates, samples;
- paper, fabric, plastic bottles, tinsel, rain and other decor as desired.
As you can see, there is nothing complicated and expensive. The only tool you might not have at home is the thermal gun. It is a heating device, inside which special glue sticks are installed, capable of melting under the influence of high temperature. In the viscous state, the composition passes through the nozzle and is squeezed to the desired location. It is convenient to connect hard-to-reach elements and surfaces with a thermal gun. It is useful for the manufacture of various crafts and decorative interior work. If you decide to do this all the time, you can buy such a thing. If not, you can easily get by with PVA glue.
The simplest Christmas trees
If your child asks how to make a Christmas tree from cardboard, offer him and make basic products together. If you originally decorate them, you will get good souvenirs for grandparents.
To make flat Christmas tree pendants from cardboard, you need to do the following:
- Find a template or make it yourself;
- circle the outline on the cardboard;
- cut carefully with scissors;
- if you need a loop for suspension, it can be done using a needle with a thread or stick a ribbon, satin ribbon. To close the ends, you need to easily stick a decorative element in this place or make a Christmas tree from two parts and insert a loop between them;
- decorate the product with any materials.
A more spectacular and beautiful option is a contour with a cut out middle or an openwork decorative pattern on cardboard.
Christmas tree glued from parts
Using this method, it is easy to get a voluminous souvenir that is hung or put on. If you wondered how to make a Christmas tree out of cardboard quickly and beautifully, then this method is for you. The beginning of work will be as in the previous version, only you will need at least three parts, but more can be.
The 3D effect is created due to a certain way of gluing parts. So do the following:
- fold each cardboard blank along the axis of symmetry;
- on the inside along these lines stick double-sided tape or apply glue;
- connect all the parts (you do not need to glue the ends of the branches).
As in the case of a flat Christmas tree, here you can attach a loop-pendant and make an openwork slotted pattern. Such objects are light, airy and original.
Patterned souvenir
You already know how to make a Christmas tree out of cardboard in a simple way. Now it’s worth complicating the task. This option will look original and unusual.
The assembly of parts will interest even the boys, because they resemble a designer. If you like to develop all kinds of schemes, create your own Christmas tree template. As a first experience, it is better to use the ready-made one.
Large interior Christmas trees
If you are looking for ways to make a Christmas tree out of cardboard that replaces a living tree and can fully decorate a room, use these options:
- make a large cone and decorate it as you wish;
- perform a triangular pyramid with slots on the sides, decorate with light bulbs;
- assemble a longline construction from trapezoid boxes;
- Use a large number of cardboard strips to create a wireframe model of the Christmas tree.
Material combination
Cardboard can act both as a basis and as a decor. The combination of different elements and manufacturing methods will create the most original version of New Year's decoration. Want to learn how to make a Christmas tree from cardboard and tinsel? Read on:
- cut the workpiece for the cone of the desired size;
- roll up the part and glue the joint;
- paint the tree in a suitable shade;
- wrap tinsel in a spiral, using a thermal gun, PVA glue or thread with a needle;
- decorate if necessary.
Now you know how to make a Christmas tree from cardboard and tinsel. In addition, you can use the rain. It is used as an additional decoration or main. To get an unusual souvenir, do this:
- glue the cone;
- cover it with a layer of paint of the color you like;
- fasten the rain tape on top;
- distribute the strips evenly over the surface of the cone;
- if you are making a large interior object, glue as many rain layers as needed in tiers to the base.
You understand how to make a Christmas tree from cardboard and rain, but there are also other ideas using additional materials. You need to give free rein to imagination and engage in the creative process.
How to make a star on a Christmas tree from cardboard
Just as with the tree itself, here you can choose different ways. They are as follows:
- cut a flat five-pointed shape;
- make only a contour that is wrapped with thread, rope, satin ribbon;
- make two parts according to the first method, connect them together like a box with a strip, bent at the ends of the rays of the star, glue the joints, decorate with decor;
- to make a complex volumetric part according to a template, which is drawn by dividing the circle.
If you want to learn how to make a star on a Christmas tree from cardboard according to the template, see the figure below.
So, you saw many ways to make a Christmas tree out of cardboard with your own hands. Different forms and additional decor materials will create a great souvenir for the New Year holiday or a large interior decoration.