I saw these adorable felt trees in my Garnet Hill catalog and decided I wanted them:

But $20 seemed pretty steep for felt and glue, so I set out to make my own (Also, they’re out of stock).

Meh.

It was a LOT harder than I thought to a) get the cones the right shape b) get the felt tiers even and c) not burn the crap out of myself with hot glue. But after a couple of hours I came up with my own version which I think is just as cute as the original AND won’t make you throw your scissors across the room in frustration:

You could make them in any color combination to match your Christmas decorations (what, you don’t pick a new color scheme for your holiday each year?). Felt comes in TONS of colors and costs about 30 cents a sheet. I bought 11 sheets total but used only 8 of them for both sets of trees – plus lots and lots of mistakes. The only other cost was two 99 cent sheets of poster board, so DIY was DEFINITELY cheaper than store-bought. (I already owned a glue gun. Duh.)

If you want to do it the easy way, just buy a few foam/florist foam cones from the craft store. They run between $3-$8 each but there are always coupons and sales. Find the best art and crafts supplies like epoxy resin and more on this website.

If you want to make it the cheap way, you’ll need a couple pieces of poster board. Trace something large and round (I used my egg plate) and cut out the circle. Then fold your circle in half, then in half again so you have lines showing 4 quarters.

Cut out one of the quarters and roll the board into a cone. The more it overlaps the pointier the cone will be. Use various size circles to make different sized cones for a staggered look or the same size a bunch of times for a more uniform look. I used a line of hot glue to secure the cone, but tape would probably hold just fine.

For the felt leaves, fold a square of felt in fourths (just like how you started your cone). Cut the outside into a scalloped edge (or points, or use pinking sheers, or fancy patterned scissors) then cut the center out so it’s a ring. Cut through the ring in one spot so it becomes a strip. Glue one end to your cone and wrap the felt around so it overlaps up the cone.

Repeat with more felt, varying your colors and lengths. Try to line up the ends so you can have a “back” that is less pretty and can face the fall.

To make them fancier, paint on a little clear glue with a paintbrush an dust with glitter, add beads as ornaments, or add construction paper stars to the top. So cute, so easy. At least now that I know what I’m doing.

Today, I am thankful for my creativity, perseverance and that cold water soothes hot glue burns.