Poppin’ Around the Christmas Tree…

After moving from our sixth floor walk-up apartment to a much more manageable first floor apartment this year, my roommates and I decided it was appropriate to get a Christmas tree. I’ve lived in New York City for eight years now, and we’ve never gotten a tree before (re: said sixth floor walk up), so this was a VERY exciting year for me.

My roommate Michelle and I hit up the nearby makeshift Christmas tree bodega and borrowed some lights from my BF. Michelle had trekked back from Thanksgiving in Tennessee with a box full of family ornaments, and my mother sent me some in the mail, too.

But we still thought we were missing a little something a little extra. I decided that it would look great if we strung popcorn. I absolutely love the end result – the popcorn gives the tree the bit of color and texture it needed, and a little bit of a vintage feel as well. However, it was a lengthy process – much more time intensive than I expected. That being said, if you have two or three people, a few bottles of wine and some good Thursday night TV, it is a fun and totally doable DIY project! And, most importantly, it’s adorable when finished!

The finished popcorn strands on the tree!

Michelle was really the brains once this project got moving. She did some research on the internet, and combined what she read until she got the perfect combo for our supplies/skills.

You’ll need:

1. Regular, old-school popcorn – not microwaveable or flavored.
2. Nylon thread. We like “Invisible” thread. It almost feels like fishing wire, but is clear. They should sell this at any store that sells fabric.
3. Sewing Needle
4. Scissors.
5. Good eyes. Wear your glasses. Invisible thread is tough to see!

To begin:

Step 1: Pop the popcorn, according to directions. For some reason, everything we read said that regular, popped on the stove popcorn is better than microwavable. We went with it. Also, you’ll want to make sure the popcorn doesn’t have any seasoning or butter.

Step 2: Thread the needle with the Invisible string. It’s better to thread shorter sections popcorn, so cut off about 3 to 4 feet of thread. Pull the string through the eye of the needle, tying the ends together, so that the string is doubled and the end result is 1.5 – 2 feet of string.

Step 4: Before stringing another, loop the strong around the first piece of popcorn and tie it in a knot, to help further prevent it from breaking or slipping off. You only need to do this with the first piece.

Step 5: String popcorn along until the end. Tie a firm know at the end.