Icy Woodland Dream Tree for the Michaels Dream Tree Challenge, #JustAddMichaels

The day has arrived!  Time to reveal my Michaels Dream Tree!  This is the tree I decorated for the Michaels Dream Tree Challenge.  I am soooo excited to share this with you!

I call it my Icy Woodland Dream Tree.  I know  it’s kind of obnoxious, but I’m just going to come right out and say it. This is the prettiest tree the inside of my house has ever seen!

My inspiration for this tree was an ice-encrusted tree.  In central Arkansas, we rarely get snow.  Our winter precip is usually an ice storm, which causes all kinds of nastiness for our streets and power lines.  On the other hand, the trees are unbelievably pretty when the sun hits the ice covered leaves and branches.  And with schools and businesses all closed for the weather, it’s a day we all spend huddled together in a warm house.

My second bit of inspiration I found while shopping at Michaels.  A glittery bird cage!  As soon as I saw it, I knew it needed to be my tree topper.  With birds perched in front and on the side.

My challenge with creating an ice-encrusted Christmas tree is that I have five cats.  Five very bad cats who have been known not only to bat the low-hanging ornaments off the tree, but actually climb the tree and make a spot for themselves to sit amongst the branches.  No pretty, delicate glass ornaments for me!! Everything on this tree needed to be shatterproof.

Michaels had everything I needed to make it happen.

Tulle.  Before I put any ornaments on the tree, I stuffed lengths of sparkle tulle deep into the branches.  It’s a subtle look, but it gives kind of a whispery, sparkly white backdrop.  2 packages of 2-yard Creative Cuts was enough for the whole tree.

Bird cage, birds, and ribbon.  Being an inspiration piece, the bird cage was next to go on the tree.  It was fairly easy to wire to the top of the tree.  The top branches of the tree were fairly long so I was able to work them up through the bottom of the birdcage to keep it in place.  I bunched up some tulle in the bottom of the cage and underneath the cage because my birdies need a soft fluffy nest.

I used white floral wire to prop the lid of the birdcage open.  The birds are a pair of bright red cardinals.  The red birds are a pop of color against the green tree and the silver and clear ornaments, as is the red tartan ribbon that trails from one of the birds mouth and loops back and forth across the tree.  I wanted it to look like the bird decorated the tree with the ribbon.  The bird’s body is actually Styrofoam so I was able to use a straight pin to attach the ribbon to his body.  It felt a little wrong sticking a pin in the bird’s neck, but it did the trick.

Glittery picks.  I actually used very few ornaments on my tree. Most of the dreamy icy look is achieved with glittery picks.  I love using picks to decorate a tree!!  You can spread them out and cover a large area with little effort. 

I ended up using three styles of picks.  The one I used the most has twigs and berries covered in silver glitter and clear plastic droplets.

I was able to spread the twigs out and shape them so they looked heavy with ice.

I also used some glittered fern leaves. These were actually sold as “bushes” but I cut them apart and stuck the individual stems into the tree.  To give the tree some color, I sprinkled in some picks with red berries, pine cones, and a sprig of mistletoe.  The whole pick is dusted in clear glitter.

Snowflake ornaments

These snowflake ornaments look like glass, but they’re actually plastic.  They were just what my tree needed!  And the light is beautiful shining through them!

Burlap tree skirt. 

In keeping with a natural woodland theme, I wanted a tree skirt that looked rustic and organic.  I used some chocolate brown burlap and ruched it up in five spots around the edge to give it scallops.

The tree skirt was super easy to make.  Check back with me on Monday for a tutorial showing how to do it.

Here’s the tree lit up in a darkened room.

And… one of the five reasons everything on this tree needed to be shatterproof.  This is Charlotte, our youngest bad kitty!!

I hope I didn’t overwhelm you with photos.  I actually struggled a lot with getting photos that capture the light and the dimension on this tree.  I have snapped picture after picture after picture and not been able to show those aspects.  It literally sparkles.  The lights dance through the ornaments and “ice” crystals as you walk by.   This is absolutely my dream tree!  Thank you Michaels for helping make this happen!!

Now that I’ve got my Dream Tree finished, I feel like I’ve got a leg up on my Christmas decorating.  If you’ve got some tree decorating in your future, here are some little tidbits you might find helpful.

—  The Michaels Décor Guide has tons of ideas and projects to make spreading the holiday cheer throughout your house easy. Navigate through the online version, download a copy, or pick up one at your local Michaels!

—  Michaels is offering a holiday helpline this year! Now through Christmas Eve you can call 1-800-MICHAELS Monday through Friday from noon until 5 p.m. CST and be connected directly to Michaels crafting experts. You also can send craft questions via email to [email protected] or by using the hashtag #askmichaels on Facebook and Twitter

—  Need inspiration about what to put under the tree for your kids this year? Check out the Michaels Holiday Gift Guide – with tons of present ideas, including the must-have gift this season, the original Rainbow Loom!

 Disclosure: Michaels provided a 7-foot prelit Christmas tree and $500 gift card for me to participate in their Dream Tree Challenge.  Any opinions expressed in this post are entirely my own.