Trees galore.

I was asked to do decorations for our ward party a couple of weeks ago. With a little budge of $50 it had to be simple, but I didn't want it to be cheesy. Last year I was tired of my Christmas decorations and searched online for inexpensive homemade ideas. Martha Stewart to the rescue! Martha had made beautiful christmas trees from old magazines. Perfect! It was simple, inexpensive and looked cute. I decided to use the same idea for our table centerpieces, though I didn't realize what a task I had at hand.
The goal was to make 40 trees. After making 17 I knew I needed help, so luckily I had a some willing helpers. Every free minute of my day, I was folding magazines and it didn't seem to end. I had trees all over my apartment and crossed my fingers the girls wouldn't destroy them.
After the folding came the spray paint. I'm not sure what I was thinking when I thought one can would be enough. Six cans later I had sprayed and glittered 50 magazine trees.
Along with the trees I made candy cane place card holders. Instead of holding names, my helper printed out song lyrics, scripture references and common sayings pertaining to Christ's birth. I think it added a nice touch in centering the party around Christ.
After the party, I couldn't let all of the trees go to waste, so I saved my favorites. I also learned a couple of things after folding 25 trees if you decide to make some:
1) The thicker the magazine the fuller the tree. It might take a little longer, but the result is worth it.
2) Removing the front and back cover helps the pages spread more evenly.
3) The thicker the tree, the less spray painting that needs to happen