Early this holiday season I came across fresh bay leaf trees by Pottery Barn. Birch bark and sparkly silver set against the soft green trees seemed like a perfect pairing. Their fresh bay leaf trees sold out quickly, but I knew the trees could easily be replicated for a fraction of the price, using dried bay leaves instead.
To make Bay Leaf Trees all you need is:
- one large container of dried bay leaves
- Aleen’s Tacky Line Roll
- paper mache cones or poster board formed into cones.
Purchase whole, dried bay leaves at a big box wholesaler like Sam’s Club or Costco. It will only cost approximately $3! You can use paper mache cones or make your own cone out of poster board and tape. My smallest tree is poster board. Take your tacky line roll and apply a strip of the glue around your cone.
Remove the plastic backing and gently press nice, whole, bay leaves against the glue strip, slightly overlapping each other. Apply another strip of tacky line roll glue around the cone and add your next layer of leaves. Repeat this process until you reach the top of the cone. Just make sure the cone is fully covered.
That’s all there is to it, unbelievably simple! Now you can display your Bay Leaf Trees. Pour Epsom salts onto a platter for an instant snowy winter scape!
I trimmed a few wax myrtle branches from the yard and placed them in a pitcher. A few small, silver ornaments adorn the branches for a whimsical touch.
My paper mache angel, was gold and worn looking, so she received a mini makeover with a quick spray of silver.
The Bay Leaf Trees are so versatile and will fit in with any style of holiday décor whether you’re modern, rustic, shabby chic, eclectic or something in between! Another wonderful benefit of these easy to make and inexpensive trees is their smell! They make me want to cook!
Give these Bay Leaf Trees a try! You’ll love them! For another easy tree to make, check out my Capiz Christmas Trees!
Kim
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Kim...this is darling! I HAVE to give it a try!!
ReplyDeleteHappy Holidays!
XO,
Jane
Love these! They turned out so cute! Pinned them :).
ReplyDeleteThis is one of my favorite made items this year.. Absolute genius idea and it looks terrific~!
ReplyDeletewell done indeed. Take a bow- you deserve to.
I love these, they look absolutely gorgeous :)
ReplyDeleteThis would be a GREAT craft for my boys to do at their "Winter" party!! I'm saving this for next year :) Who knew?! Looks amazing as always! You should have a special tab called Pottery Bargains or Ballard Discounted!
ReplyDeleteGorgeous, Kim! So simple and elegant (as always here!).
ReplyDeleteHow cute!! Love this idea, I bet they smell amazing :)
ReplyDeleteThese are beautiful and wow how easy!! Love this!!!
ReplyDeleteHi Kim- Love these - classic... simply elegant.
ReplyDeleteMy best- Diane
Oh, Kim. This is such a simple and incredible idea! I just love it. Good girl! :)
ReplyDeleteThese are so cute, Kim. I think they'd be cute any time of year. Or maybe even as a topiary?(since I don't use bay leaves for anything else);p
ReplyDeleteI have followed your blog for a while, and this bay leaf tree idea popped up last week when I was trying to decide what to use as a food table decoration on Christmas Eve. Needed something that didn't take up much space. This was perfect! I made a 14" tall one this weekend, and it was incredibly easy. Perfect touch! Thanks for the post. I've already been forwarding your idea to others!
ReplyDeleteLove this! perfect for a table!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful. I am sharing this!
ReplyDeleteLove these pretty trees. Just wondering why I didn't think of this. lol!
ReplyDeleteThank you for the "show-how."
Merry Christmas!
These are so fabulous I can hardly stand it! I'm pinning this bad boy and definitely plan on making this for next year. Gorgeous!!!
ReplyDeleteKim, these are really gorgeous! Such a beautiful green and I'm sure they smell amazing.
ReplyDeleteYou should submit your craft into my company's craft contest when you can: http://www.pennysaverusa.com/contest/103/details/
Such a fab idea!