Burlap Bow Ornaments & Twig Tree Topper

Here in Michigan we’ve already seen snow this year, and that inspired me to put up one of our trees a little early! We are planning on putting a real tree in the family room, but after learning we are hosting a friends-giving and Christmas for M’s family, we decided to break out my old artificial tree and put it in the living room for some additional holiday-hoobolation.

The only small problem- I only have enough ornaments and accessories for one tree. So after walking around the house picking up supplies (typical) I put together two crazy easy projects that helped turn this little tree from last-minute decision to party ready : )

First up is that burlap bow!

Supplies:

Burlap or material of your choice cut to 3″x8″ strips (6 needed per bow)
Hot glue gun & sticks
Twine cut into 6″ sections (1 needed per bow)

To create the bow loops, glue the ends of one burlap strip together, and repeat until you have 5 individual loops.

Glue the 5 loops together to create a bow shape.

Create the center piece by wrapping a strip around your fingers, gluing together, and then gluing to the center of the bow. I found it easiest to make a small box with the glue on the burlap to cover any ends showing.

Lastly, I took the twine and glued it to the back of the bow so it can easily hang on the tree and to keep the rustic look of the ornament!

How easy was that? Lots of glue, but very simple to put together and large enough to be a statement on the tree. I recommend a burlap or similar feeling fabric so that your bows don’t start drooping, but any size/shape or color would definitely work!

Next up was an easy tree topper. I have used large bows in the past, but since I just added these burlap ornaments to the tree, I wanted to create some sort of star for the top. Enter in some twigs!

Supplies:

15 6″ twigs
Bakers twine
Twine/Rope
Cardboard roll (mine was leftover from a spool of ribbon)
Hot glue gun & sticks

Creating the star can take a small amount of patience here, but arrange the twigs in a star shape using three for every “line”.

Grab your bakers twine and tie the twigs together at the 5 points where they cross. I found it easiest to wrap the twine around once in all 5 spots, then tighten once I got the shape I wanted.

Ta-da! And a star was born. Who knew it was that easy : P

For the base, I took the cardboard roll from a spool of ribbon and hot glued my rope around it until the cardboard was hidden. One huge dab of hot glue on the top to keep the star in place, and it’s tree ready!

These two projects took me about 30 minutes and about 10 sticks of hot glue, but I love how they turned out! Simple, quick and perfect for our little tree! Here’s a few action shots to show what it looks like : )

The stars could also easily be used as ornaments if you leave out the base, and could be spray painted to match your color scheme as well! We’re going for a traditional silver and red this year, and I can’t wait to show you more! For other holiday ideas, be sure to check out our other Christmas posts and follow us on Pinterest!

Are you decorating for the holidays yet or do you wait until after Thanksgiving? Any fun new themes you’re trying out this year? Traditional meets rustic fits us to a tee and I’m loving being able to spread that all over this new house : )