Oh Christmas Tree...

Good Morning! How are you doing? We have been busy getting ready for snow. I had to stop crafting for a little while and go outside to do chores..YUK! It was a nice Fall day so I really didn't mind that much. I love to garden and it's really hard for me to put all of my lawn ornaments away and get everything ready for winter. I'm always sad to say goodbye to my beautiful flowers and all the lovely summer birds we have here in Minnesota. The Orioles and Hummingbirds left a few weeks ago. I'm excited to see more of the Cardinal's during our long cold winter. Being outside and watching the birds and other little critter's has always brought me so much joy.

Today I have an Origami Christmas Tree card for you. It's so pretty when its done and is just a tad more challenging to explain so please bear with me here as we go along. I promise the end result is gorgeous!

• Start by cutting 4 squares of your favorite Holiday paper. I am using the same pattern on all 4 squares, However, you can mix it up and use different patterns if you want. I'm using a 3", 2 1/2", 2" and a 1 1/2" squares. You can use any size really as long as you make them all a 1/2" smaller then each other.
• Take one of your squares and fold it in half with the pattern inside the fold. Then fold it in half the other way so that you end up with 4 square folds when you open it up like you see here.

• Now you will take the square and folding it with the pattern side out into a triangle. Then you will open it up and match the other two corners to fold it in a triangle again. It may take a little practice but when you open it up it should look like this.

• For the next step you will hold two corners, opposite each other, and push them to the center until the papers meet. You will then fold it into a large triangle like this.

• For the last fold you will turn one corner into the center line and fold and do the same from the other side. You will need to fold all four pieces the same way. When you are done with all your folds they will look like this.

• Okay so lets get ready to assemble our tree. For the background I took 5 1/4" x 4" paper and I used a Snow Flake Die Set from Simon Says Stamps and embossed them on to the paper with my big shot.
• I used Tim Holtz Distress ink Broken China and a small sponge to blend the ink onto the paper. I allowed the ink to fade the closer I got to the middle of the paper.
• Taking the largest origami piece we will adhere toward the bottom center of the paper. Make sure NOT to glue the top of it down quite yet.

• You will take the next largest size and slip it over the top of the piece you glued down. Your tree will start to take form now. Always remembering not to glue the tip down and continue adding your pieces in the same fashion.
• I added a gold star on top of the tree, some sequins and my sentiment before adhere the final piece to the front of the card. There are so many ways to use this tree. Let your imagination run with it. Here are some examples of the tree's I have done.

This is a lot of fun to do and you can get the children, or grandchildren, involved. I love crafting with my Grandchildren and watching their eyes beam with pride when they finish a project! Please leave me a comment in the section below letting me know what you think. If you have any questions regarding today's tutorial feel free to ask. I am VERY interested in hearing what you have to say. I hope everyone has a Great Day!!