Extra Mint Gum Trees

When it comes to crafting, I like a good challenge, so when asked what I could create with Extra Gum, in mint flavors, I was up for it. Not only can you have fun crafting with this sugar free Extra gum, but it makes a great gift. Think neighbor gifts, teacher gifts, gifts for your kids friends, and stocking stuffers. After thinking about what I wanted to make with gum, I came up with these Extra Mint Gum Trees. I’m so excited to have them as part of my Christmas decor. Read along, and I’ll show you how you can make some of your own.

First, you’ll need to head to Wal-mart and pick up your gum, and any other supplies you might not have on hand.  I picked out some spearmint, polar ice, and peppermint gum. Isn’t my little helper the cutest?!

Next, you’ll gather the other supplies that you’ll need.

Start by wrapping your styrofoam pieces in tin foil.

Next, you’ll put them on a skewer. Form a cone out of chipboard or cardstock and add it to the top of your tree.  I used hot glue to put my chipboard on, then covered it in tin foil.

Now you are ready to start gluing your gum on.  It was tempting for me to eat the gum while I was crafting, but I didn’t. 🙂 I started with one stick of Extra Gum, pushing it all the way up to the layer above it, and gluing it with hot glue, and worked my way around until I was back to where I started.

Then I just moved up a layer, staggering where the gum was glued so it didn’t all line up, until I was at the top of the tree.  At the top, I layered the gum a little bit to get the coverage that I wanted.

Then comes the fun part of embellishing! I found some mini tinsel that I wrapped around one tree, and I used some green ribbon on the other tree.

Aren’t they so fun and unique? I’m excited to put them on my shelf and display them for the Christmas season.  You could also give one as a gift!

I also made up these fun printables to print out and stick onto a pack of Extra Gum.  They would be so quick to put together for a neighbor, teacher, friend gift or stocking stuffer. You can download the printable file here.

Have you ever crafted something out of an unusual item?  Leave a comment and tell me about it, I’d love to hear.