Christmas Craft Challenge 2011 - Day 19

Yes another late one tonight... I admit it, I'm a tiger for punishment that's all there is to it.
After last Christmas I picked up some paper mache ornaments marked down after all the Christmas Sales. I picked them up already with thoughts of adding them to the 2011 Christmas Craft List. I didn't know what I would do with them exactly, but I knew I had a little under 12 months to think about it a bit.
I loved this three dimensional tree as soon as I saw it (which was actually before the sale). I contemplated buying it several times, but thought it was a bit expensive... not so on sale.


Here it is in its naked state... raw... au natural. The tree is about two foot tall (guesstimate) and fitted on 2 A3 papers laid sideways.

I painted the tree all over in white gesso, two coats. I knew I was going to cover it, so I wasn't too particular, just tried to get it even... thank goodness for large foam brushes!!!

(This picture is intentionally on a slight angle to show you the depth of it.)
I cut a pattern by tracing around the outside with a pencil then decided on my design and hand sketched it. Once I was happy with the design I labelled the pattern pieces then cut them out. Then the fun started. I searched though all my scraps of red and green to find the right pieces to fit all the pattern pieces. From there it was simply a matter of tracing around the pattern pieces and cutting them out before finally adhering them onto the tree base.

I really like the way it has turned out. I'm still contemplating what to do about the sides... for now they will just stay white. I'm also deciding whether or not to add any embellishments or just let the pattern speak for itself.
{Edited - Added Before and After Photographs}