Natural Christmas Tree Projects

Simple Orange Pomanders

Make natural baubles by evenly scoring orange skins and slowly dehydrating the fruits.

Fruit and Flower Sprigs

For simple, stylish decorations, tie stems of rosehips to dried teazle heads with wire and finish with a loop.

Spiced Fruits

Attach single fruits and dried sliced chilies with colored wire to either end of a decorated orange slice. Even after they have been dried thoroughly, oranges retain enough of an aroma to fill a room with their citrus scent. Get step-by-step instructions for creating dried orange ornaments.

Frosted Christmas Lanterns

Thread a wire through a Chinese lantern and make a knot in the wire below the lantern. Wrap the remaining wire around a few wispy seed heads to give this decoration a frosted effect. Get step-by-step instructions for creating natural Chinese lantern ornaments.

Citrus Slices

Make a hole in the top of a dried orange slice, thread through a length of string, and secure in a knot.

Cinnamon Walnut Bundles

Secure several long cinnamon sticks in a bundle with an elastic band. Attach a walnut at either end of thin rope, wrap the rope around the sticks and glue on a star anise. Get step-by-step instructions for creating cinnamon spice bundle ornaments.


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Cranberry Hearts

Thread thin string through dried cranberries using a needle, secure in a heart shape and finish with a loop.

Snow Clouds

Tie extra quantites of wispy or fluffy seed heads to Chinese lanterns with thin wire and finish with a loop.

Budget Christmas Wrapping

Newspaper and Garden String

Turn yesterday's news into graphic wrapping paper. Pair it with green garden string for an eye-catching combo. I aslo use grocery paper bags and raffia for bows for a natual look, raffia can be purchased in many colors.

Make the Wrap Part of the Gift

Wrap a kitchen gift or present for the foodie on your list in a colorful dish towel.

Map It

For larger gifts, use a map of your hometown, favorite vacation destination or dream getaway — it's the perfect wrap for jet-setters or adventurers on your list.

Mix Textures

Put small pieces of interesting paper to work. Ridged cardboard adds textural interest when paired with brown Kraft paper. Pretty gingham ribbon adds color.

Recycle a Past-Its-Prime Shirt

Cut the back off an old shirt and wrap the shirt front around the gift. Simply secure the sleeves on top with string.

Brown Paper and Woven String

Brown Kraft paper is a great anytime gift-wrap. Keep some on hand for wrapping gifts throughout the year. Give it holiday appeal with red twine or ribbon and fragrant cinnamon sticks.

Tissue Paper and Leaves

Arrange leaves between sheets of recycled tissue paper and secure the wrapping with glue and twine.

Christmas Gift Toppers

Evergreen Foliage and String

Gather a few lengths of string, tie up the gift and tuck a couple of sprigs of foliage under the bow.

Cinnamon Sticks and Braided Raffia

Tie the gift with braided raffia, thread ribbon under it and add a bundle of cinnamon sticks.

Dried Fruits and Raffia

Glue three dried orange slices together in an overlapped row, tie the gift with raffia and glue on the orange slices.

Holly Sprig and Vintage Ribbon

Tie the gift with bright vintage ribbon and tuck a holly sprig with a few berries under the bow.

Pinecones and Raffia

Tie the gift with raffia, wrap a little thin wire around the base of each cone and tie them to the bow.

Ribbon and Buttons

Wrap recycled ribbon around the gift and glue different-sized buttons onto the ribbon.

Raffia and Dried Leaves

Gather a few lengths of raffia, tie the gift and glue a few dried, flattened leaves just under the bow.
This is one of my favorite, the leaves look like a flower!

Threaded Buttons

Thread odd buttons onto a very thin length of ribbon and tie the ribbon around the gift.