Spring into holiday decorating.

• Bottle with narrow neck
• Armature wire approximately 45 inches long
• Tracing paper
• Pencil
• 38-gauge gold and silver aluminum
• Wire cutters
• Scissors
• Hot-glue gun and hot-glue sticks
• Rhinestones and gems

1. Download the free patterns for this project. (Downloading requires Adobe Acrobat software.)

Coiled Christmas Tree pattern

Download Adobe Acrobat

2. Find a bottle. Try to find a bottle with a narrow neck that tapers to a wider bottom. It should have a cone shape to coil around. Some soft drink bottles will work. Catsup, salad dressing, and wine bottles also work well. Holding the bottle firmly, wrap the wire around the bottle, beginning on the top and winding downward. Keep the wire taut, and each revolution around the bottle should be wound tightly against the next.

3. When the piece of wire is completely wound, remove from bottle. Lift the wire upward off the narrow end. Adjust the coil to desired shape, pulling apart to increase height and widen or narrow coils to desired shape. Experiment with different bottles and a variety of wire lengths to create trees tall and thin, short and plump, leaning or perfectly straight. Point the top end of the wire upward to hold the star.

4. Trace the star patterns. Draw shapes onto aluminum using a sharp pointed pencil. Cut out star shapes from aluminum using scissors. Cut tiny slits on the inside points of the large star.

5. Lay the small star centered on top of the large star. Fold in the edges of the back star over to the front star. Leave an opening and slip onto the top of the tree. Use a spot of hot glue to hold in place.

6. Add gems to the tree. Place small random dots of hot glue on the wire. Immediately put the gems on the glue. Place one at the bottom end of the coil and add gems to each point of the star.