Ingenuity and Persistance: Alice in Wonderland Christmas

For my first official post, I'm going to start with Christmas.  Makes perfect sense considering it is the middle of April--right?  Bear with me.  There is a reason for this madness.

Normally my Christmas tree looks like this:

In case you are wondering, this is the "Peacock Tree."  We had this as our tree for years.  What was ingenious and clever about this tree?  Nothing.  Well, maybe the tree skirt.  The tree skirt is just a bunch of my girls' dress-up clothes piled around the bottom.  Otherwise, the tree is covered with the usual ornaments purchased at big-box stores.  There are a few odds and ends picked up at my local decorating warehouse (I call it Kirklands on crack), but only a few.  I don't have money for expensive designer trees.

But this year, I was determined to do something different.  Something crazy.  Something totally my family.  The answer--an Alice in Wonderland tree!  Because we are all mad here, of course.  SOOOOO, I turn to google and pinterest to get ideas.  (Isn't that what everyone does?)  Guess what I found.  Absolutely nothing.  Well, that's not true.  I found one tree covered in ornaments made out of paper plates by kids.  Sentimental, but a little sad.  Oh, and I found a crapload of links to buy Disney ornaments (a set of tiny Alice in Wonderland will set you back about $50 on ebay).  Not exactly what I had in mind.

Mission:  to create a tree out of stuff I had and found on a budget.  I wanted the FEEL of Alice without just hanging a bunch of Disney or Hallmark Alices all over it.  Here is the result:

Ok.  Let's break it down.  First, I made a list of things I think about when I think Alice in Wonderland.
Clocks, Frames, Teacups, Hats, Colors, Cake, Flowers, Butterflies . . . .
The list goes on and on.  Then I set out to find or make these things.

Clocks:  looked at thrift stores.  Didn't find much.  Turned to Ebay and found a lot of used clock faces. All between 5-6 inches.  A spurge ($30 for 6), but I use them around during the year too.  (I have a thing for clocks).
Frames:  Michaels in the clearance aisle.  Laser cut from balsa wood.  Painted them gold with craft paint.
Teacups:  used my bone china teacups I got at my wedding 17 years ago.  First time I used them for anything.  I think I only have 4.  Tied them to the tree with ribbon.

Hats: OK, I am cheating on this one.  I have Mad Hatter hats.  Several.  All from Disneyland.  The one on top is the traditional hat that I bought to make into a lamp for my kids' bathroom.  That is the topper for my tree (above).  You can easily find one online.  The others are mini top-hats that I just stuck in the tree.  (They are $14 each at Disneyland, didn't have them at Disneyworld when we went a couple of years ago).  Don't be discouraged if you aren't a Disney freak like I am.  Pinterest has plenty of tutorials on how to make mini top hats out of paper and fabric.

You can see the Cheshire cat top hat (pink and purple) in the middle.

Tinkerbell hat at bottom.

Note the felt mushroom (caterpillar anyone?) from Costplus World Market.  Most expensive ornament I bought at $5.

Colors:  Plastic balls from Walmart.  Pink tulle from Hobby Lobby cut into squares randomly stuck in the tree.  Mini ribbon balls from Hobby Lobby.  Silver and gold glitter ribbony things for $6 at Sam's club.

Cake, flowers, butterflies:  All less than $1 each at Walmart.

And wonky Alice letters:  Hobby Lobby on sale, painted gold and hung with black ribbon.

That's it.  Alice In Wonderland tree on a budget.

And lest you think I am only about the tea party, this was my mini-entry tree (got at Kohls for $2 with a $10 coupon and a sale).  The Red Queen has arrived:

Topper:  Hobby Lobby Crown stuffed with a red pillowcase.
Heart ornaments:  four for a buck at Dollar Tree.
Chess pieces:  our chess set.
Jumping playing cards:  pack of dollar store cards I hot-glued together on wooden skewers.
Skirt:  old green shower curtain with dollar store roses pinned on.
Frog jester:  clearance at a designer christmas store after the holidays several years ago.  I am all about sales.

The point:  think outside the box and you can create anything.  Any idea how much it would cost to buy a designer tree at a tree festival or store?  Hundreds, if not thousands of dollars.  All it takes is a little creativity.

Next post--the actual tea party.  Over-the top tea party on a budget.  DD birthday is the 24th.  It fit our theme!