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).
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.
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.
I’ll definitely do this!
What an excellent idea! I went with the mini tree this year, but it’s not doing the trick. I might need to do this project too :)
DO IT!
Genius! I love this idea.
This is a prefect idea for small spaces and minimalist decor… I absolutely love it!
thanks sue!
Love this beautiful idea!
xo – http://www.lilyonfillmore.com
It’s amazing Molly!!! Well done absolutely wonderful:-) thanks for sharing and enjoy you pretty printed tree!
thank you so much !!! xoxox
Lovely! Great to see our tree come to a second life!
I love, love, love this idea! Well done and beautifully executed! This leaves me inspired…
aww that’s my favorite thing to hear, sarah. thanks!
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?
I found it!!!!!! http://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/5263184027/
yay! good luck!!
Molly this is perfect! That photo is so gorgeous!!!
aw thank you jamie!! xx
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!
a real xmas tree is something I look forward to all year…but this is SO cute it makes me 2nd guess myself ;-)
I love your idea. What print option did you use at kinkos to get your item printed for $9.00?
I found this on pinterest and was all like “who’s the amazeballs person that did this!?” and of course, it was you. looove!
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.
hi molly! where did you get this chair in the last pic? it’s what my chair dreams are made of. thank you!
they’re from amazon! just search for wishbone chairs (they’re replicas!) xx
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!
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!
I love it! Thanks for sharing!
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!