DIY MINI PLASTER CHRISTMAS TREE DECORATIONS.
/DIY Mini Plaster Christmas Trees.
The Christmas countdown continues. Not long to go now. I got this Christmas tree ice cube tray a few weeks ago and I'd been wondering what to do with it.
I had a few different ideas. I thought about using it to make some glittery ice cubes like here or maybe some dark chocolate truffles but then I remembered this project over on Design Sponge for Diy Gem Pushpins, how much I liked it and decided plaster was the way to go.
Supplies:
Plaster of Paris
Christmas Tree Silicone Mould
I got mine from the local shop but I've linked to a couple of similar ones at the bottom of the post,
An old bowl
Something to mix the plaster with, an old spoon or wooden ice lolly stick
Acrylic paint
A paintbrush
Gold Gilding Flakes
And some Gilding Adhesive.
1. Mix your plaster with water following the directions on the packet. Plaster of paris sets quickly so you need to work fast.
2. Pour into your silicone mould. If you're messy like me you may need to scrape away any excess plaster.
3. Leave to dry. The plaster I used set in 15-20 minutes but I left mine for a good 4 hours to make sure it was completely set.
4. Remove from the mould. They should easily pop out.
5. Paint your trees using some green acrylic craft paint. The paint will soak into the plaster a little so you may need to do a couple of coats. I did 3.
6. Apply some gilding adhesive and gilding flakes to the bottom of each tree. You can find a more in depth tutorial about using gilding flakes here. If you don't want to use gilding flakes you could always use a metallic gold paint instead. Martha Stewart does a great one that I've used in the past but any metallic paint will do.
Is there anything cuter than teeny tiny Christmas trees all lined up in a row? I think not and there's so many ways you could use them, as place cards, gift toppers, to decorate your fireplace, glue a magnet on the back like these and pop them on your fridge or even attach some twine to the back and hang them from your tree.
I think I'll be using mine as gift toppers. They're going to look great on top of these origami gift boxes.