The Popular Tiny Tart Tin Tree of Christmas Past

It's the last Saturday before Christmas, so for me that means last-minute crafting. In the event that I run out of time to finish my current ideas, I thought it would be nice to revisit my Tiny Tart Tree from 2 Christmases ago. It was so easy to create, yet had a really maximum impact. It was a very popular post, and was featured on Funky Junk Donna's I Love That Junk.

As expected, I've been Christmas crafting all week, because I love it, and because I can.....I know little tart tins have been transformed into ornaments in every configuration possible, but I decided to keep it simple......this time. :)

I've collected stacks and stacks of all sizes of these pretty little tins, some beautifully worn, and others bright and shiny. I've been wanting to create with them for years, but I kept getting distracted. This time, I did something about

I recently picked up a small tinsel tree at GW, knowing very well that I had a plethora of ornaments to come up with a themed tabletop tree. So what did I decide on?.........

A kitchen tree, and more specifically, a baking tree.....Loads of little tart tins, each with their own sparkly charm.

Some have vintage rhinestone buttons, and others have little pinecones with silver German glass glitter. I attached the buttons with a glue gun, and the pinecones with removable putty, specifically cord weatherstrip,available at the hardware store.

I really wanted to keep an all-silver color scheme with the ornaments, so I added a garland that is actually large ball chain, which I believe is, appropriately, the same size used for pie weight chain. I'm sure I could've easily used a beaded garland, but this chain has an incredible weight to it making it drape so beautifully. And with a nickle finish, it brilliantly shines like a mirror.

The tree sits in a star-shaped antique baking tin, which I lined with Spanish moss, then laid fresh green moss over it, to balance out the green of the tree, and also to add contrast to the tin.

I played around with different ways to hang the ornaments, because I didn't want anything that would permanently alter them, so I could use them again for future design ideas.

The empty tart tins are hanging from smaller ball chain, and the only things connecting them to the chain are Rare Earth magnets. (This is not an appropriate method if small children or pets try to play with the tree.) I wanted a clean and simple look to the hanging hardware, so this worked perfectly. Depending on the strength of these magnets, you may need to use a couple as I did, since they are so thin.

The tins with buttons or pinecones are facing out, to show off their sparkle, so I used a glue gun to attach silver pipe cleaners to their backs. Using a pipe cleaner keeps the tart in a facing-out position, so it doesn't dangle or turn. Using a glue gun allows for easy removal from the tins, or you can glue the pipe cleaner to a magnet, allowing you to re-use it to hang a different ornament.

The treetop's tin is a diamond-shaped one with small round tin inserted with a magnet between them, and a button glued inside the round tin. I used a metal lanyard clip with a magnet to fasten the diamond tin to the tree top.

This tree has a trunk wrapped with brown florist tape, and shows all the bumps created from attaching the branches, so I covered it with Spanish moss. I wanted something neutral, but not green, and wanted the silver on the tree to be the focal point.

I love so many styles that you just can't box me into one. Designing a variety of small, tabletop trees is the perfect answer to fulfill all of my decorating tastes, and for minimal cost, since you don't have nearly as much space to fill on a tiny tree. Since I had most of the components already, save for the tree and ballchain, this was quick and very inexpensive. Now that's my kind of decorating.......:)

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