diy / holiday / xmas

diy makeshift christmas tree

12.02.13

diy makeshift xmas tree

did everyone have a good thanksgiving?! i ate and drank too much and our dinner was nice and relaxing. and now it’s december. whoa. we decided to hold off on buying a christmas tree for a few days, so for now – enjoy this one!

christmas trees are super expensive and super high maintenance. so for those of you who are deciding to skip a tree this year, here is a REALLY easy alternative!

last year, we moved right before thanksgiving and were going on a trip the day after xmas — so we never got a tree. but i woke up on christmas morning to a tree made of lights taped to the wall by my boyfriend and it was a christmas miracle. and i’ve been planning this easy diy ever since. true story.

all you need for this is a large scale engineer print. at 36×48, this print cost me only $9 at kinkos. luckily i was able to use this BEAUTIFUL photo by hermann platzer (he graciously allowed me to use it for the project – check out his work here).

diy xmas tree

rather than taping it straight on the wall, i decided to hang it like a tapestry. so using a wooden dowel, tape the top of the print directly on it. i’m sure there’s a better way to do this. but i didn’t do it. tie some string on other side and hang it on a nail. THAT’S IT.

ornament garland diy

for the minimalists, you’re all done. but i then decided to make an ornament garland using mini ornaments i bought for $5 at CVS and some silver thread. i simply strung ornaments a couple inches apart and knotted the thread to secure. but you could decorate your fake tree with lights, tinsel, whatever.

tape the garland on top of the print and you’ve got yourself a pretty decent substitute. light a christmas tree scented candle and you’ll forget all about your missing tree sorrows.

makeshift xmas treediy makeshift christmas tree

57 comments on “diy makeshift christmas tree”

  1. Your idea is great! I want to replicate it but I can not find this photo in album of Platzer, you have a direct link to this specific photo?

  2. Happy Holidays! I hardly ever comment on blogs, but I just had to say that I love this idea and I love the photo! Kudos and thanks to you for sharing your lovely creativity, and to Hermann for sharing his gorgeous photography. Cheers!

  3. I’d love to try this project. How can I get started? I’m not a member of Flicker. Is there another way to contact the photographer? Any help you can offer will be very appreciated. Truthfully, I don’t know what I’ll do if given permission, as I don’t know how to get this image to “become a wall hanging!” Perhaps you will guide me there, as well? Thanks so much.

  4. Are there some other pictures like that? I mean not a Christmas tree but e.g. a grassland with flowers in little vase…
    Have you some other ideas?
    I love the idea of the Christmas tree!

  5. Seeing this pretty late but I LOVE this idea! I’ve been trying to find a cat friendly way to have a Christmas tree this year, as my cats have a tendency to climb into our tree and ruin all of our ornaments. I tried to print the picture using kinkos having trouble finding the larger sized option. Any advice you have would be greatly appreciated!

  6. This post made me cry. Last August (2016) we lost everything we owned in a devastating flood. I had just that same year moved all of my decorations from my attic to my storage shed. The worst part was losing all the ornaments my kids had made through out there school years. Ouch! I am going to take the picture from my very last Christmas tree and have it blown up for this years tree! Thanks so much for this wonderful idea. Wiping my eyes and moving on!

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