anthropologie-inspired sheet music tree

I’m not going to hide it…I have been browsing for new Christmas decorations to craft since October 1. Can I blame it on my 31 Days of Warming up to the Holidays series? While perusing Anthropologie’s website, I came across this Printed Paper Pine…selling for a whopping $48!

Fortunately I had a few old hymnals that were just gifted to me that I’ve been wanting to include in my Christmas décor for this year.  I knew with a few added elements I could have my own printed paper pine at a fraction of the price.  Here’s my version that cost me just under $3 out of pocket.

To make your own Anthro-inspired sheet music tree, you’ll need:

• A 6 inch round wooden plaque – I found mine at Hobby Lobby for $1.47 plus an additional 30% off!

• A dowel rod  - mine was 3/16 inches wide by about 15 inches tall found at Hobby Lobby for $0.26 plus an additional 30% off.
• Sheet music – mine came out of this old hymnal

• A topper of your choice - I used a wooden ball (with a hole in the bottom) as my topper. I glittered it up using the fabulous Martha Stewart glitter but you could easily use a star or another fun topper.

• White fun foam
• Hole punch
• Pinking shears

Begin by painting your plaque white (or the color of your choice).
Once the paint is dry, drill a hole in the middle of it – the hole will need to be the same size as, or slightly bigger than, your dowel rod – but don’t drill all the way through.
Create “spacers” for your tree by cutting your fun foam in 1 inch x 1 inch squares and punching holes in the middle. The Anthro tree looks like it has some sort of cardboard or fiberboard spacers, which I didn’t like the look of.

I thought that smaller, white foam spacers would be less noticeable in the final product and they definitely are.
Now it’s time to cut your paper. I had about 10-12 pieces of paper in each of the following sizes:

• 6 by 6 inches
• 5 3/4 by 5 3/4 inches
• 5 1/2 by 5 1/2 inches
• 5 1/4 by 5 1/4 inches
• 5 by 5 inches
• 4 3/4 by 4 3/4 inches
• 4 1/2 by 4 1/2 inches
• 4 1/4 by 4 1/4 inches
• 4 by 4 inches
• 3 3/4 by 3 3/4 inches
• 3 1/2 by 3 1/2 inches
• 3 1/4 by 3 1/4 inches
• 3 by 3 inches
• 2 3/4 by 2 3/4 inches
• 2 1/2 by 2 1/2 inches
• 2 1/4 by 2 1/4 inches
• 2 by 2 inches
• 1 3/4 by 1 3/4 inches
• 1 1/2 by 1 1/2 inches
• 1 1/4 by 1 1/4 inches
• 1 inch by 1 inch

It sounds like a LOT of paper, but I only used less than 1/8 of my hymnal because I could get several different size squares out of each sheet.

Once you’re done cutting your paper, punch holes in the middle of all of the sheets.  I gently folded my sheets in half and punched the hole that way.

It’s time to assemble your tree! Insert your dowel into the hole in your plaque. I didn’t even need to glue mine because it fit well, but you might want to add a little glue to make it sturdy. Start stacking your paper onto the dowel, starting with the largest size. I played around with the look and ended up putting a spacer, then 2 pieces of paper, another spacer, then repeat the process until you reach the top of the tree.  Add your topper and you’re done!
So for $3 I have a new piece to add into my Christmas décor! I had been working on 2 other trees to make a little trio…they’re not the same, but they’ll look great together.  I’ll be back later in the week with more tutorials for those!