![\"\"](\"http:\/\/zeezoey.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/12\/A-bit-of-everything.jpg\" "\\"A-bit-of-everything\\"")
<\/a>A snippet of the full layering effect of decorating the tree \u2013 shatterproof ornaments with glittery patterns, leopard accents in the form of bows and decoupaged balls, custom painted letter "Z's," and strands of beads.<\/p><\/div>\n
First of all, in order to properly create my leopard inspired tree, there was a meticulous method to my madness and you will note that the tree has several different aspects to it. I wanted a harmonious and tasteful combination of colors and textures that would evoke both Christmas as well as an exotic leopard feel. I artfully mixed carefully chosen assorted shatterproof holiday ornaments in shades of burgundies, reds, greens, golds, and silvers to compliment my homemade touches. The first one being the leopard decoupaged balls. The process is really quite simple if you have the wherewithal to make a bit of a mess for a while. I decided it was imperiatvie I drop everything else I was doing (such as bookkeeping, laundry, and errands) and\u00a0took all the various sizes of the shatterproof balls that were completely smooth and devoid of any glitters or ridges as the base for my project. For those of you that have received a copy of\u00a0 The Chronicles of Zee & Zoey<\/em> from me, you know that I wrap the book in a sleeve of leopard patterned tissue wrap\u2026 so, I just so happen to have lots of tissue paper handy for crafting! With nothing but watered down Elmer\u2019s glue, torn up pieces of tissue paper, a paint brush, and lots of patience, decoupaging the balls is quite easy. I supported them on my dish washing rack that I turned upside down and outside they went to dry!<\/p>\n The next task was painting gold glitter onto little wooden letter \u201cZ\u2019s\u201d that I had gotten at Michael\u2019s Crafts. I bought every last one they had and I\u2019m sure the inventory person is scratching his\/her head at the absence of the letter Z in stock!! Dan (and the cats) helped me paint these while I was decoupaging and they also went outside to dry before I affixed cording to them to hang on the tree.<\/p>\n The letter "Z" spiked in sales for Michael's Crafts!<\/p><\/div>\n While at Michaels I happened to wander down the holiday ribbon isle. That\u2019s right, an ENTIRE aisle devoted to nothing but assorted patterns and sizes of ribbons to make holiday decorations. There were literally dozens of spools of ribbons in leopard print so it would seem others might share in my obsession. Obviously in my defense, I had no choice but to buy some and decided to strategically tie leopard print bows at the edge of some of the tree boughs. Again, while I was there, (I was helpless to their blatant willingness to take advantage of my weakness towards impulse shopping) I saw some gorgeous poinsettias that were unlike any I had seen in years past. Rather than your traditional reds, whites, or pinks, these were in delicious shades of creamy mochas and coffees and complimented my color scheme perfectly. I cut the flowers off of the stems and also adhered them strategically to select points of the boughs.<\/p>\n You will note the sweet little leopard bows gracing the tree along with the creamy colored poinsettia blooms and homemade stuffed hearts.<\/p><\/div>\n The last step was to drag out my sewing machine and make stuffed ornaments out of a leopard fabric I happened to have left from another project that also might lend credence to whether or not I am bonkers or not, although this project was primarily Dan\u2019s foray into cat insanity. Dan literally pulled apart an old cat condo we had and rebuilt it by adding another floor, new cubbies, re-carpeted it, and more incredibly, custom made windows cut out in the shape of the letter \u201cZ\u201d and a heart shaped door opening to one of the enclosures, and leopard lined beds and walls\u2026. So, we had fabric left from that\u2026 I cut out various circles, hearts, and diamonds, and embellished them with ribbons, buttons, flowers, and bows. They were such a hit that Zee decided I had made them as part of his personal stock of cat toys and we find them all over the house. I take this as quite a compliment!<\/p>\n You can't see it from the picture, but on either side of the heart opening that Zoey is napping in, is custom cut letter "Z's" for the windows! This is the leopard fabric I used to make my stuffed ornaments!<\/p><\/div>\n<\/a><\/a><\/a>