Trimmed with Tassels

This weekend, why don't you trim your Christmas tree with homemade tassels?  Inspired by this pair of Oscar de la Renta earrings, I used a spool of silver string that I had tucked away in my craft box to make large tassel ornaments.  They look just lovely on my tree but come December 25th I plan to take them down and use them instead of bows on some of my Christmas gifts.  Below are the steps to create your own tassel-trimmed-tree:

ONE wrap the string around the palm of your hand to create a loop.  The thickness of your tassel will depend on the number of times you wrap the string around your hand--I did around 150.

TWO with the string still wrapped around your palm, take a 6 inch piece of string, feed it through the center of the loop then tie a knot to secure the pieces.

THREE remove the loop from your palm and lay it down on a flat surface. Take another 6 inch piece of string and wrap it around the bundle several times--this should be about a 1/4 inch from the top. Once you have the look you want knot the string and trim off the excess.

FOUR hold the tassel by the top string and use scissors to trim the bottom loops.

Ta-da...a tasseled tree in less than an hour!!

(images by kristin kerr for simply smitten)