No; we’re not talking about those peppermint sticks—DIY Wednesdays are about recipes for creative décor and displays, not desserts!

These do it yourself peppermint sticks are fabulous fun, and can be adapted to nearly any size for use in small scenes or giant spectacles in your home or business!

We use these large display pieces throughout several of our showrooms, and they’re always a conversation piece with visitors often asking if they’re for sale.  The photo above shows one lying across the top of one our cabinets in our AmericasMart showroom in Atlanta, surrounded by greenery and gift boxes.

To create your own peppermint sticks, you start with a sturdy cardboard tube.  For smaller displays, you could use wrapping paper tubes covered in white paper or painted.  To go even smaller, you could also use a painted dowel.  For the large-scale scenes that we create, we use cement molds which can be purchased at most hardware stores.  These are heavy-duty, hollow cardboard tubes, and they’re usually already white!

Next, we wrap red satin ribbon in a spiral around the tube.  You can staple it at the top to get started, then tack it down as needed as you go around with a small amount of glue.  Use wider ribbon for tubes that are large in diameter, and narrower ribbon for smaller tubes and dowels.  You can also use other colors, such as green, for variety!  We wrap the ribbon around the edges of the tube as well to help cover any seams.

Spray-on glue is then applied to give the peppermint stick a tacky surface.  Then you can sprinkle glitter all over, covering as much or as little as you wish.  You could also try using spray on snow or flocking for a different texture.

Lastly, wrap your peppermint stick in a large sheet of cellophane, gathering it at the ends.  You can disguise the gathering with clear twist ties or you can dress it up with additional ribbon or a bow.

Have fun creating your own, and please let us know how it works out for you!

Don’t forget that larger photos of our completed projects can be viewed in the DIY album on our Facebook fan page!

Tags: Christmas, Craft Tips, DIY, Facebook, Fans, Recreation

This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 18th, 2009 at 9:11 AM and is filed under Do It Yourself. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.