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December 2, 2011

I Spy Tree (a.k.a. Junk Tree)


Everybody has a junk drawer, right?  Well, this project puts all those little bits of junk to great use!
Yes, this has been a fun little addition to our holiday decor :)  This I-Spy "junk tree" was inspired by my friend's blog post here.   This is a fun project for the kids to help with too!
Here's how I made it...

Grab one of these foam cones at the craft store...they come in a few different sizes, so you can choose.
 Gather up some junk :)  Everything on my tree was found in my house.  Below are some of the things we gathered, but we ended up with even more than this.
We raided the junk drawer, the toolbox, the toy box, the office supplies, the change drawer...

And then we hot glued the stuff we found onto the foam cone, as tight as we could get it.  Little round beads and buttons really helped to fill in the tiny gaps...
Believe it or not, I even had that star for the top in the junk tub!  It was originally a piece of plastic used to keep a balloon from floating away - way to go me for keeping it! ;)
Some of my other favorite things: a mismatched earring, a clothespin, an old key, a dreidel (ha), hair clips, a T token, jingle bells...okay, I am loving it all...

Isn't it amazing how horrible it looks??
But then, when you spray paint it - - - voila!  It looks AWESOME!!
Plus, the texture of the foam cone looks really cool when it's spray painted too. 
My kids are having a blast playing "I-Spy" and looking for different treasures, and it looks pretty darling with the other Christmas items on the mantel ...


So go collect some junk!  You'll have a bit of Christmas decor completely unique and all you!

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34 comments:

  1. Oh my gosh-I love your junk tree! I found you through Delicate Construction. Thanks for sharing! My kids will love this!

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  2. OMG!!! really lovin this!!!! PINNING!!!!!

    Would love it if you could share this on my link party serenity saturday over at www.serenityyou.blogspot.com

    Natasha xxx

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  3. This is hilarious and awesome. Yes, the gold spray paint makes it an entirely amazing conversation piece! I love this! laura

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  4. What a unique idea! My girls would love it!

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  5. My daughter saw this and squealed "Steampunk!" She is heading to the garage as I type. Thanks for sharing this cute project!

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  6. I love this idea!
    Thank you for sharing.

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  7. What a fun project! Thanks for sharing.

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  8. I love this!! What an amazing idea.

    Jamie
    http://diyhshp.blogspot.com/

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  9. I love the crafty tree! I can't even call it junk! That's what I call creative!

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  10. genius!!! how super fun! we are making this one :):)

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  11. CUTE!!! I've never thought of doing this! I would love for you to link this up to our Christmas Crafts for Kids party today too! I LOVE it!

    XOXO!
    marni

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  12. What a fun idea!
    www.saysskippy.blogspot.com

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  13. Cute idea! Great way to get rid of stuff you don't need and make a festive little holiday decor. Nice job!
    Karah @ thespacebetweenblog

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  14. I love love love this! I'm so going to do this I'd love you to add it to what we wore and made party over at http://raegunwear.blogspot.com

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  15. Wow, that looks really cute! Very unique idea and love how it turned out :)

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  16. This is a very cool tree! I would love to have you share this project at my Shabby Shares link party over at Rustic Crafts ~ http://rustic-crafts.com/?p=3603

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  17. That is totally my kind of craft :D I love using up stuff from the junk drawer (last time, I made a necklace lol). Your junk tree is awesome! :)

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  18. Such a Cool idea! My kids would love to do this. I am featuring it at somedaycrafts.blogspot.com. Grab my "featured" button.

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  19. I love this idea!!! I can't wait to make my own :)

    http://runningwithagluegun.blogspot.com/

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  20. Oh wow, what a fun idea! :) My kids would LOVE this! And we definitely have plenty of "junk" on hand from our junk drawer! haha what a great way to de-clutter and decorate at the same time! lol
    Thanks for the great idea.

    Going to pin this for sure! :)
    ~Maria-Isabel

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  21. Love this!! Going to put it on my facebook page! :)

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  22. So cool! I featured this project here: http://procraftinationstation.blogspot.com/2011/12/i-spy-junk-tree.html

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  23. What a cool idea! I love the entertainment factor, the thriftiness, and it just looks cool!
    Rachel

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  24. I love how this follows the "I SPY" theme. My students always loved the books and the show. A= for you.:0)

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  25. What a brilliant and unique idea! Spray painting it makes it look awesome. And what a conversation piece. So Clever!!! I think I need to go look in my junk drawers!!

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  26. Such a adorable idea! Love it!:)

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  27. Totally speechless! What a simple things around you can turn into a masterpiece! Superlike it and absolutely love it :)

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  28. I make a little tree for my sisters tree collection every year. I was wondering where I was going to do for a tree this year as I have used up so many ideas. This is perfect and cheap too. Thanks for the idea..

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  29. What a glam way to upcycle junk! It's truly inspired... and makes me think of what else I can do with the same idea in a non-Christmas theme! :-)

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  30. just curious what size tree did you use?

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  31. My husband and I made one of these for our 3 year-old grandson. A definite hit!

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