Make it Yourself: Holiday Tree
by Rachel Tayse • December 1, 2009 • Family, Fun or Funny, Make it Yourself • 9 Comments
Our Xmas tradition is to decorate a Norfolk Island Pine. It tolerates the attention but prefers to be an indoor/outdoor tree and is usually completely dried from the lights at the end of the holiday season.
This year I was thinking about buying a metal or wooden reusable tree. Then I had a brainstorm: let’s make our own branch tree!
I filled an empty clay pot with garden stones. Sand or pea gravel would also work well.
Lil helped me gather multi-pronged branches from the backyard. We inserted them into the stones and added more on top to hold the branches in place.
I brought the ‘tree’ inside and wondered whether it was a dumb idea. The branches looked out of place on the quilted tree skirt made by my grandmother.
We unwrapped our collection of miniature ornaments and added them to the tree.
I placed a few pieces of holiday origami at the base.
When all the decorations were placed, I fell in love. Our tree is earthy yet shows off our ornaments. I don’t have to worry about leaves drying out or presents being dirtied by soil. Best of all, the tree cost nothing and can be returned to the yard at the end of the season.
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I am also in love with my new camera. I brooded about whether I needed a DSLR for months and finally bought a Canon EOS Rebel T1i Digital SLR Camera on Friday. It is amazing! I’m still learning how to use it well, but the pictures I’m getting are already so much better than I could take with my Powershot.
Case in point: I rarely took pictures of Hawise before because the old camera would not react quickly enough to capture her ever moving body. Today I recorded another xmas tradition with the DSLR: torturing the dogs with costuming.
That is beautiful.
i love it! they have a similar thing happening over at easton that i want to create for my front porch. the photos look great, too…it’s an exciting thing jumping over to a DSLR! did it come with the 18-55 lens? i want one of those – hear it’s great!
also: that window!!!!!!
.-= Patti´s last blog ..The Christmas Spirit =-.
I cannot tell a lie: the stained glass is fake. I want to replace it with real glass eventually…
Wow, Rachel! That’s too cool. I bet Cam would LOVE one of those in his bedroom! Thanks for the great idea.
Great tree! I did something similar to a potted floor plant in my dorm room one year during college.
Your dog photo says it all. Although my dog Blitzkrieg says he can’t condone such acts (he hates even wearing a banana) and wants me to rush to your dogs aid with some of my homemade peanut butter treats. Blitzkrieg says treats make everything better!
.-= Condo Blues´s last blog ..Mom’s Homemade Soy Candles =-.
That is really cute! I saw something like that as a gift idea before, only instead of ornaments it had family pictures on the branches.
Oh, Sweet!!!! Great idea.
.-= Jenna @ blog.chivetalkin.com´s last blog ..Chive Talkin’ Menu Plan Blog Roll – Week of 11/30/2009 =-.
I like your tree, but I can’t imagine my dog staying still long enough for a costume.
.-= DianaHayes´s last blog ..Roasted Apple and Butternut Squash =-.