Introduction: A Heart-Shaped Coffee Tree

About: Hello! My name is Mary Simons and I' m glad to have joined the Instructables Community. I'm a creative person and have lots of ideas to share. Hope to find friends and new projects to work at here.

Hello, everyone! In this post I’m going to share another idea I have recently worked at. It’s not a secret that creation of versatile trees made of beads, coins, stones and other materials has become quite popular nowadays. So, I decided not to hesitate and make the heart-shaped tree of my own. This tree, however, is unique, because it is made of coffee grains. So, let’s get started!

Step 1: Supplies

To make this heart-shaped coffee tree, you will need the following supplies:

  • coffee grains
  • glue and the hot glue gun
  • any material to make the pole of a tree (with this purpose, you can use bamboo or Sushi sticks, pencils, firm wire or any other material you have at hand)
  • corrugated fiberboard
  • a string
  • a flower pot or a plastic glass
  • gypsum (alabaster)
  • Scotch tape
  • nail polish
  • versatile décor elements (cinnamon sticks, beads, flowers, roses, ting-ting, lace, a heart pendent, fabric for the pot etc.)

Note: When choosing coffee, do not purchase the cheapest product, because it has grains of poor quality. Such coffee often smells disgusting as well. As far as there will be many grains left, you will hardly use them afterwards.

Step 2: Prepare the Elements of the Composition

Before you start working, sort out the grains and choose those, which feature excellent quality. Having done that, take the corrugated paper and cut out the heart shaped element. You can define the size of the heart with regard to your personal preferences and the size of the composition you are going to create. Keep in mind that the strips of the corrugated paper should be positioned vertically so that it would be easier for you to insert the pole inside it.

Take the pole of your tree (I used a Sushi stick) and insert it into the heart. Fix the stick on both sides using the hot glue gun. After that, you can use the string to wrap the tree pole. If you wish to make sure the string is attached properly, it is recommended to fix it with the Scotch tape. Both ends of the string should be also fixed by the hot glue gun.

Step 3: Attach the Coffee Grains to the Heart

As soon as your fiberboard heart is ready, it is high time to glue the coffee grains to it. Apply a layer of glue to one side of the heart and place the grains on the surface. Distribute them to your liking, but make sure they cover the entire surface. Personally, I placed the coffee grains along the outline of the heart and then chaotically filled the middle part of it. Everything depends upon your own liking and the amount of grains you have selected. After that, repeat the same action with the second side of the heart. You can place the grains in one or two layers – just like you wish!

Step 4: Glue the Grains Along the Edge of the Heart

Having glued the coffee grains to the surface of the heart, do the same along its edge. While it is easier to attach the grains to the sides of the heart using ordinary glue, sticking them to the edge of the element will be more effective if you use the hot glue gun. That’s it – the heart is ready!

Step 5: Apply a Layer of Nail Polish

Take a bottle of transparent nail polish, mix it with acetone and apply a layer on both sides of the heart. Well, this step is optional and can be omitted if you don’t have nail polish at hand, for example. However, the application of nail polish adds sparkle and aesthetic appeal to the element. Keep that in mind.

Step 6: Let’s Make the Pot

Take the plastic glass or a small flower pot you have prepared. Mix gypsum or alabaster with water and “plant” the tree into it. To make the pot lighter, you can add a few pieces of foam plastic inside it. Wait for 10-15 minutes and start decorating the pot. I used the piece of cloth that resembled the bagging.

Step 7: Add Decorative Elements

As soon as your pot is ready, you just have to decorate the coffee tree with any elements you wish. Regardless the decorative elements you use, these simple touches will make your heart and the pot really unique and personalized. I used a cinnamon stick, textile roses, a star anise, lace, beads, versatile pendants, ting-ting, rattan balls, dried hibiscus, gold-plate floristic greenery and other items I had at hand.

Step 8: Enjoy the Result!

Here you go! Your heart-shaped coffee tree is ready! On this photo, you can see how my tree looked like. Hopefully, yours be great as well! Such a coffee tree will appeal both to the coffee addicts and those people, who don’t like coffee at all! You can present this gift along with a coffee jar, a box of chocolate candies etc. Whatever you choose, this gift will be out-of-a kind!