Santa Sleigh table decoration with Ruby Rock-It

A few weeks ago, I created a hanging pinecone wreath to add to my Christmas display. You can see it here. 

Today, I have created a Santa Sleigh table centrepiece to match. I bought this timber sleigh at the goodwill store for $4. It is quite large, about 18 inches long at least. It wasn't bad as it was, but it does have a corner that has been broken off and re-glued (quite badly), plus it is in traditional green. This wasn't going to work with my colour scheme.

First step was to clean it down, and prime it with a coat of white spray paint, paying particular attention to the surfaces that I didn't plan to recover. 

I then traced out the sides onto the back of my gltiz cardstock. Both sides are obviously the same, I only needed to trace once, then cut a mirror image version. The sides are very large, so I needed to use two sheets for each side, with a seam, but that was then disguised. I choose to use a separate colour for the blades of the sleigh.

I used hot glue to adhere the papers, since they are heavier than regular cardstock. 

 Once that was done, it was just a matter of decorating. I put some florist foam blocks into the bottom, both to create some height and also to have something to anchor the branches into. I have used real Christmas tree branches. I simply went to the Home Depot and asked for the offcuts from the tree trimming. (I also use these the bulk up my banister garland). For those of you back home in Australia, sorry, I guess you will have to stick with artificial garland. At this point I also tucked in a strand of battery powered string lights, so it will sparkle in the night time.

I positioned my candles, which I embellished with pieces of leftover glitz cardstock. I trimmed the branches into manageable pieces and tucked into the foam, so that they would surround the candles. Be sure to allow plenty of space for the wick if you are using real candles.

Next, I tucked in some pinecones that we collected from the park. and tucked some large silk flowers into the foliage. I took some squares of deco mesh, and rolled them on the diagonal, and tucked them in at random places to add some colour.  I also added some small silver baubles.

You may find you need to tweak things a little to have the arrangement looking just right, by honestly, this is a sophisticated project, that was actually deceptively simple to put together. 

Supplies used:

Glitz cardstock