no budget christmas decor: star tree topper!

never underestimate the power of cardstock to make something cool out of basically nothing. or scrapbooking paper to add a pretty print on the cheap. or modge podge to add a little strength to your paper-made thing & a shiny finish to make it look, well, not so on the cheap!

my favorite tree topper from target broke last year, so i was on the lookout for something quick & easy to replace it with this year. this project did take a little time, but it was easy & completely free! i found a lovely free printable template thanks to pretty & cozy that i decided was definitely worth a try, & came together so nicely i decided to fancy it up with some book pages & modge podge. i LOVE how it turned out!

i printed the template on cardstock, cut it out & hot glued it together per the tutorial. then i added a dollar tree party hat as the cone that keeps it on the tree. here's how it looked all glued together:
& here's how it looked a hundred years later [not really, but man it did feel like it took awhile!] when i finally got it all decoupaged... i glue stick-ed some green construction paper onto the cone so it would blend into the tree. that was a quick fix since family was coming over to dinner that night, but i felt like it was a little lackluster on the tree.
and, you know, crooked. gotta fix that.

i'm crazy about how the book pages look, but i do admit it seems like a star tree topper should be a tad more sparkly... even my hubby asked if i could add some glitter to it. keep in mind, if my manly-man glitter-hating hubby says it needs more sparkle, it needs more sparkle.
so back to the ever-trusty dollar tree for some tinsel garland [9 feet for a buck. yay!] & i glued it around the edge of the star. i also added little leaf shapes cut from dark green felt so that the base blended more into the tree. totally, completely LOVE.
yet again, my amazing hubs was right. now i just have to figure out how to store it for next year without it getting completely squished. any ideas?