How Coffee Became a Tree...

Well, okay, I didn't really turn coffee into a tree. (Had you fooled for a minute, though, didn't I?!?) This is another DIY idea, and it has probably been one of my favorites so far. Do you remember, way back when I designed my business cards? (If you missed that post, you can check it out here.) Well, at that time, I mentioned that I wanted to display my cards on some type of tree. That's really where this whole idea began. I needed a tree... sort of.

There really isn't much to this project, but I just love the way it turned out. Unfortunately, I don't have the most thorough tutorial to offer. The truth is that I attempted this a bit blindly... I just made it up as I went along. I wasn't really sure that it would turn into what I had envisioned, so I didn't really plan to create a tutorial for this one ahead of time. Now that it's finished, though, I just have to share it with you! I have several pictures to help the process, so I am pretty confident you'll still follow the process pretty easily.

Step one: Start with a large coffee can. Strip the labels.

Step two: Cover the can with a material of your choice. I used scrapbook paper because that's what I had at the time, but you could easily use fabric if you wanted. Secure the material along the edges with hot glue.

 Step three: Add embellishments.

Step four: Add tree stems.
These are literally dead sticks from our yard.  My husband was kind enough to gather them for me, and they were just perfect. I used the floral-arrangement foam from Hobby Lobby to secure the stems. Then I covered the top with a scrap of burlap.

Step five: Prepare business cards to hang! This is the really fun part. I found these cute little paper envelopes at Hobby Lobby. My business cards fit into them perfectly. I punched a hole in the top of each one and looped twine through the hole.

Step six: Hang business cards on the tree! This was almost as much fun as decorating a Christmas tree. Almost.