Hey Blissful and Domestic readers! I'm Alex from Happy, Healthy, and Domestic (formally Crafting With My Cubs).
I'm so excited to be here, thank you Danielle for this opportunity to share a fun Christmas tutorial with you. First, a little about me. I am a wife and mom to two feisty little boys. When I get the time, I love to craft, sew, and cook healthy and yummy meals for my family - especially homemade baby food for my littlest man.
One of my favorite projects recently was a t-shirt quilt I made for a friend's wedding present, so much work, but it was so worth it!
I'm so excited to be here, thank you Danielle for this opportunity to share a fun Christmas tutorial with you. First, a little about me. I am a wife and mom to two feisty little boys. When I get the time, I love to craft, sew, and cook healthy and yummy meals for my family - especially homemade baby food for my littlest man.
But let's get to the craft!
Last year on Pinterest (follow me here) I saw a couple different ideas I really liked. You may have seen them too...
source: lucydesignsonline.com via Pinterest
I love both ideas, but the first one didn't have a tutorial, so here's my version of their idea. Both are made out of tomato cages, but since it's late in the year and I'm not a gardener, there was a distinct lack of said cages. To make my own outdoor Christmas tree I had to improvise.
The hardware stores may not have tomato cages this time of year, but they do have plastic bush/tree stakes. I grabbed three of those, but four probably would have been better considering the planter I used.
So you'll need:
3-4 tree stakes
Christmas Garland (I used 3 from Dollar Tree, each was 15 ft long)
A pot or planter (mine was from Dollar Tree, but you may already have one)
Lights
Christmas Ornaments, if you choose
wire and glue, optional
Start by drilling holes in the planter where the stakes are going to be inserted.
Glue could be good too. I didn't use any by you may want to.
Wire the tops of the stakes together and you have the form of your tree.
Next, you'll wrap your garland around the form. Don't wrap it too tight or it will bend the stakes inward. You may find that you'll need some wire to keep the garland from slipping down or out of place.
Finally, decorate. I used a string of 100 lights and some spare shatterproof ornaments. I also filled the planter with some rocks from the backyard to keep it from falling over. All in all it cost me about $7.
The little man helped me a little so he wanted to pose with the tree.
Now go and make your own. Come connect with me and show me your version!
That is a great idea! You just inspired me to make my own little version of this!
ReplyDeleteAlex, your tree is adorable! I made one last year with a tomato cage and metallic garland and decorated it with some garish glittery plastic stars and icicles. On Christmas day my niece decoratd it some more with gift ribbons and bows. We loved that little tree :)
ReplyDeleteLove this idea! We have tomato cages in our basement from our garden. I just might have to make this!
ReplyDeleteSuper cute! What a great idea for the front door. Thanks for sharing it!
ReplyDelete- Fearon
forheartandhealth.com
This is a great festive idea! I love how it turned out, thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteGreat tree1 Your little elf looks very proud. super cute!
ReplyDeleteGreat idea! I am going to try this! Thanks for the inspiration!
ReplyDeleteThis is great, Alex! Thanks for linking it up with the TALU!
ReplyDeleteGreat idea - I love things that do not cost a fortune. (TALU)
ReplyDeleteGreat idea, pictures help SOOOOO much. Visiting from TALU!
ReplyDeleteLove your take on this! Pinning now and hope to try it.
ReplyDeleteClever idea! I went looking for tomato cages over the summer and there were none left, even then!
ReplyDeleteVisiting from toddlindsey.com
I especially love that quilt idea! My sister is a graphic artist and one of her sons has been involved for years in drum corps. Starting when his older brother was in high school, she designed t-shirts for the marching band every year and later for the drum corps. She was contemplating getting rid of all the tees she had stockpiled, but I told her she had to have one of these quilts done with them for her youngest. Talk about a lot of memories - a few championships included!! [#TALU]
ReplyDeleteI made one of the bigger tomato cage trees about 10 years ago for my stepmom. She had the idea and I just collected and made, lol. I wrapped the tree in grapevine first, then we added lights =) Just recently my coworker gave me a small tomato cage she found and I was thinking about making another one but it has a pretty patina to it so I think I'll keep it like it is and just add lights!
ReplyDeletelovely!!! Thanks for linking up to Tasteful Tuesdays at Nap-Time Creations. You are going to be featured at the party this week! Stop by and check it out. http://www.nap-timecreations.com/2012/12/juneinspired-by-guest-post-delightful.html the link will be live tonight at 8:30 central time. I gave credit to you both in the feature :o)
ReplyDeleteNice Alex I love it!
ReplyDeletePlanning to make the tomato trees Friday, this is the first time I've seen the garden stake tree. This is perfect!!! I can make it as thin as I need for my small space!!
ReplyDelete