Beautiful Vintage Cone Christmas Tree DIY

This year I wanted to add some vintage touches to the holiday decor in my living room. To keep costs down, I decided to make a DIY vintage cone Christmas tree, actually, I made two, and they turned out beautiful!

This DIY is easy, but (why is there always a but?) it is time-consuming.

It took me five Hallmark Christmas movies to make both trees!

So, about ten hours in all!

But, if you love Hallmark Christmas movies as much as I do, this won’t be a problem!!

You could also make the trees smaller than I did, or only make one, to cut down the time!

So, turn on the Hallmark Channel, and let’s get crafting!

Steps to make vintage cone Christmas trees

Gather

Gather the following items to complete this project:

• Foam cones-2 different sizes-I used 15″ and 18″ cones
• Candle holders
• Spray paint-white
• Drop cloth
• Ribbon-purchased at Hobby Lobby- see picture below
• Hot glue gun
• Glue sticks
• Silicon finger protectors
• Miniature star tree toppers-2 purchased from Hobby Lobby

I purchased the white rose trim draped on the ribbon over a year ago and never used it.

I thought it would make a pretty garland on a Christmas tree, and this idea was born!

Since I was making two trees, I needed to buy more.

The store only had a larger version, as you can see on the bottom of the stack.

I already had the white ribbon with frayed edges, but I purchased the striped ribbon.

Prep

You need to do some prep before we can put the trees together!

The only stars I could find in the size I needed were brown, but I bought them anyway!

Spray paint stars

Spray paint to the rescue!

I have no problem spray-painting a brand-new item to turn it into what I need!

If you find something you like in a store that’s the wrong color, buy it and paint it!!!

Cut and tear the drop cloth

Cut a 12 X 12 piece of drop cloth.

Make cut marks one inch apart.

Tear the drop cloth. You need to tear the pieces instead of cutting them to get frayed edges!

I used about 20 rosettes on each tree with the 12X12 size strips.

Then, I made a few strips wider, and longer for larger rosettes and a few shorter and thinner for smaller rosettes.

Make rosettes

Dropcloth rosettes

Twist a strip of drop cloth.

Roll one end and secure it with hot glue.

Continue twisting and gluing the strip.

Ribbon rosettes

Cut 12-inch strips of ribbon.

Next, cut the strips of ribbon in half.

Twist the ribbon and wrap and glue it into the rosette shape.

I recommend using a wired ribbon for this step!!

The white ribbon was very easy to make rosettes with.

Unfortunately, the stripped ribbon I bought was not wired, and it had a synthetic feel to it rather than a fabric feel, and I found it difficult to twist and glue together.

The rosette on the top was the first one I made.

It was a waded-up mess!

After a few more tries, I made the one on the bottom!

So learn two lessons from my mistake:

1. Only use wired ribbon!
2. Practice makes perfect, or at least a whole lot better, lol!!

As you can see from the picture above, no two rosettes look the same!

It’s important to have different sizes because the variation helps when you arrange them on the cone!

Make cone trees

Why I used styrofoam cones

Last year I made yarn cone Christmas trees and made my cones out of cardboard. It was very cost-effective, but the trees were hollow inside.

I want to set my new vintage trees on top of candle holders, so I needed them to have a solid bottom. That’s why I purchased the styrofoam cones.

If you do not want to elevate your trees, you can save money, and make your cones instead. If you’d like to know how to do that, click here.

How to attach items to a styrofoam cone

Styrofoam can melt, so I don’t recommend using a glue gun unless yours has a high/low setting.

Mine has a low setting so I will use hot glue.

You can use original Gorilla glue instead of a glue gun!

Attach floral ribbon to the cone

If you can’t find a ribbon like this, make more white rosettes and glue them on in the same pattern.

First, wrap the rose trim around the tree, adhering with hot glue (on low setting) as you go around.

Be very careful, as hot glue can cause serious burns.

I always use silicon finger protectors. I have them linked below if you’re interested!

Attach rosettes to the cone

Put the hot glue on the back of the rosette. Push the rosette into the cone until it adheres.

This part is like putting a puzzle together! Just do your best to cover as much of the cone as you can.

You will have open spaces, and that’s OK!

Just fill in holes with excess drop cloth pieces!

Attach star

Apply hot glue to the bottom of the star.

Then, attach it to the top of the cone. Hold until it dries.

Wrap the wires with a thin strip of drop cloth and secure them with hot glue.

The finished DIY vintage cone Christmas tree

I’m so happy with how my DIY cone Christmas trees turned out!

They did take a while to make, but the time went by so fast watching Christmas movies!

I like these so much, that I made similar DIY vintage ornaments for my tree!

Would you consider making at least one beautiful DIY vintage cone Christmas tree? Let me know your thoughts!

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Blessings, Donna and Rich

Pin It For Later

If you don’t have time to make one this year, be sure to pin it for next year’s holiday decor!

More DIY Christmas decor Inspiration

If you want to see other DIY items I made for Christmas check out the posts below:

• Pottery Barn Rustic Bell Hack
• Create an Ornament Advent Calendar
• Make a Snowflake Tree Topper
• Easy Cone Christmas Tree DIY
• Make Your Own Christmas Village

Get The Look

1. Small Mini Star Christmas Tree Toppers
2. Glue for Your Glue Gun
3. FloraCraft White Cone 4.8 Inch x 11.9 Inch
4. Handmade Fringe Silk Ribbon, 1.5” x 5.5 Yards
5. Wired Edge Ribbon 4 Rolls
6. SureBonder Glue Gun
7. 3-Yard Fabric 3D Chiffon Rose Flowers
8. All Purpose Canvas Drop Cloth