Truffula Tree how-to

For L's 5th birthday she wanted a Lorax themed birthday party. I spent a lot of time on Pinterest, creating a board with lots of great ideas. I knew I wanted to make Truffula trees for some decorations but when I arrived at Hobby Lobby I saw that the foam discs and cheap feather boas were each $5 a pop. To make the 4 trees I had originally planned would cost me over $20 and I was not willing to do that.

As I searched the aisles I quickly found a package of 6 green 3" styrofoam balls for less than $5.

Then I came across a 6 pack of plastic leis for $3.

I picked up a package of Tidy Pins but I should have gotten two.

I gathered some sticks in my parents' yard and then I was ready to go. Here's how I did it in case you want to try.

First I cut the lei so it would be a long rope instead of a necklace. I then wrapped it around the styrofoam ball.

 As I wrapped I would use the Tidy pins to hold the lei in place. Because I only bought one package I had to ration the pins and use 5 per ball but 6 or 7 would have been better.

 I started the wrapping at the top and there wasn't enough of each lei to cover the entire ball. However, it wasn't that important as you couldn't see the bottom.

In the open, lei-less part I stuck a stick.

 The other end of the stick was whittled to a not-so-sharp point.

 Meanwhile my husband took a scrap of 2x4 and drilled holes in it to fit the sticks' different circumferences.

 If you don't have 2x4 scraps sitting around you could easily buy a block of styrofoam to use.

I then covered the  2x4 with some green plastic tablecloth. Of course you could use something fancier - I like simple and cheap. I pierced the tablecloth and put the sticks into the drilled holes.

 And wa-la! There there are. A little grove of Truffula trees.

 This is how I used them on my kitchen island with all the snacks.

I like how fluffy they are and unlike the feather boas I would have bought for $5 each (!) they don't look like feathers. If I would have followed my original Pinterest plan this project would have resulted in 4 Truffula trees costing over $40. Instead I have 6 Truffula trees for under $10 - and I even think they're cuter!