Driftwood Christmas Trees

Recently I was creating jewelry displays for a craft fair. I made them out of drift wood, dowels, and rectangular drift wood bases. I had extra supplies left, and being that I was (still am!) in the spirit this holiday season, I decided to fashion a few Christmas tree decorations that are inspired by the sea and made from the left overs.

I know it is a little late, but I figured that I would share the process and some images of the final product. The supplies are pretty simple:

• A power drill
• A 3/8" wood drill bit
• 3/8" Dowel
• Wood Glue
• Sand paper
• Drift wood in a variety of sizes
• A drift wood rectangular base (or a 2x4)
• A decorative star or snowflake

When selecting pieces of drift wood for the body of the tree, select a variety of sizes. The trees that I made were approximately 16" to 18", and for a tree this large it required 12-14 pieces. It is good to select additional pieces in case they split when drilling them.

Place a solid piece of scrap wood under the drift wood pieces while drilling them. Drill through each drift wood piece. Using sand paper clean up the edges of where the drill broke through.

Drill a hole about 1/2" deep on the base wood. Using a small amount of wood glue, fasten the dowel vertically in the base. Allow the glue to dry.

Arrange the drift wood pieces in the order from the bottom of the tree to the top. Start sliding the drift wood pieces on the vertical dowel. I would not suggest using glue at this time, so that you can decide and adjust the branches of the tree. There are two ways of putting these drift wood trees together; first with the branches in a line and evenly spaced on the dowel or as shown in the image below....

...stacked directly on top of each other and all at different angles. This is another reason why you should hold off on using glue on the drift wood pieces - I actually opted to not use glue at all so that I can adjust the trees as I need.

Finish off the top of the tree with a star or snowflake ornament. I purchased these laser cut snowflakes from Crate & Barrel. Add your own color or decoration to the top of the tree.

All in all a pretty easy, reclaimed, rustic, decoration inspired by the sea! Enjoy!

My Christmas Bells are Ringing.

So, it dawned on me the other day why the decorations were up so early this year, there are Christmas presents wrapped under the tree (ALREADY!), and I am feeling on top of things....because for the first time in 5 years I am not in finals-hell right before the Holidays! Life is SOOOOO good after grad school.

Well, I thought I would share a few images of my decorations...in particular our adorable tree that I am falling in love with every night as we sit by it in our cozy living room listening to Charlie Brown's Christmas.


We got our tree (for FREE!!!) from a friend who was cutting down trees, responsibly of course, in his yard. I love that the branches are separated, which highlights our few and special ornaments.

I also bought a bunch of pine cones this year as decoration...subtle, natural...and I just love them!!! Oh, and as you maybe able to see...I won the newly-wed war! I achieved my mono-chrome, classy tree with silver and white ornaments.

Hoping all of your holiday seasons are off to a great start. Peace and much love from our home to yours!

In the Spirit Early!

Getting in the spirit much earlier this year! Since I am a newly-wed, or I would like to think so at least...1.5 years is still newly-wed right?? Anyway, over the past few years we have been building our ornament collection. Despite my husbands liking, I am pushing the idea of Christmas tree with white and silver ornaments...mostly consisting of snowflakes and icicles! I think it looks classy and timeless, while he would prefer more colorful decorations on the tree. In this case, I think the designer WINS! :)

I created a treasury on Etsy last night that would embody how I would like my holiday decorations to look. I figure I can have these types of decorations until kiddo's come into our lives...then things will be a little more crafty, definitely more colorful, and a lot less organized and neat.

In the mean time, I would like my holiday decorations and tree trimmings to be simple, clean, and elegant like this Etsy Treasury.

http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4ceb2b27412d8eefe875a387/in-the-spirit?index=0

HAPPY HAND-MADE HOLIDAYS EVERYONE!