Pipe Cleaner Mini Christmas Tree

Spruce up a tabletop or mantlepiece with this mini Christmas tree.

CRAFT MATERIALS:

Bottle cork
Green pipe cleaners
Scissors
Pony beads
Gold star stickers

Time needed:

Under 1 Hour

Directions:

1. Set a 1-inch-tall bottle cork (with the narrowest end facing up) on a flat surface and use a nail to make a hole halfway into the center. Bend an 8-inch green pipe cleaner in half, tightly twist together the tips, and then fit them into the hole in the cork.

2. Straighten the pipe cleaner so that it stands straight. Snip additional green pipe cleaners into six pieces that range from 4 inches to 1 inch in length.

3. Just above the cork, wrap the middle of the 4-inch length around the vertical pipe cleaner to form branches, and bend the tips slightly upward. Working up the tree and using the next longest pipe cleaner each time, attach the other branches in the same way.

4. Thread colorful pony bead "lights" onto the branches and decorate the treetop by sandwiching it between two gold sticker stars.

HINT: I bought 1" miniature clay pots at a craft store, and glued the corks inside -- looked cute, and helped keep trees upright.