I wanted to make an inexpensive mini Christmas tree this year. And when I came across the fallen palm stalk in the exact shape of a Christmas tree, I thought it would be perfect. At first I was going to dress it with mini Christmas tree balls, but when I saw the price ($5), I decided to hit the dollar store. I went twice and, unfortunately, they didn’t have mini ornament balls or the gold garland that I was looking for. So I decided to make my own.
What I used & (my cost):
- Palm stalk or tree branches shaped like Christmas tree (free)
- Berries (cranberries will work if you can’t find red berries) (free)
- Mini pine cones painted gold ($2.40 with Michael’s coupon)
- Pine seed husks (not sure if that’s the actual name) (free)
- White spray paint (free – left over from another project)
- Ornament hooks (free – already had them)
- Small round glass vase (free – already had it)
- Small rocks (free – from garden)
- Burlap – small piece (.80 cents)
- Needle and thread
- Needle nose pliers
- Glue gun
Total spent = $3.20
*You can substitute any of these ornaments with whatever you have in your area.
We gathered berries from our palm trees and pine seed husks from a nearby pine tree. I was looking for acorns, but that’s hard to find in Miami, but so are the mini pine cones. I went to Michael’s and found the perfect gold painted mini pine cones. I was going to go to the dollar store to buy a small round vase for the base, but then I remembered that I already had one. Just filled it with rocks (to make it heavy), inserted the ‘tree’, and hot glue it so it wouldn’t fall out. I wrapped a small piece of burlap (cut in a circle) around the vase and tied it with a ribbon.
Creating the ornaments:
- Take the berries and string them using the needle and thread. To preserve the seeds I, painted them with some clear varnish. Didn’t quite work out, they still shrivelled up. But they look like they aren’t decomposing ay further.
*Safety Note: If using random outdoor berries, keep them away from children and pets and wash your hands after handling them. Or better yet wear gloves, just in case they are poisonous.
- Break the pine seed husks into smaller pieces and give a quick coat of white paint.
To hang the ornaments you are going to have to attach hooks to them:
- Take the hooks straighten them out and cut them in half.
- Twist one end 90 degrees with the pliers and the other end to create the hook part.
- Attach the hook to the pine cones and seed husks with hot glue.
Dress the tree to your liking and enjoy!
Really great idea! It looks very chic. My grandma used to cut off the top of her holly tree every year and put the stalk in her tea urn – it was always full of red berries and grew back every year!
use my tree in bedroom to put necklaces on