holiday 2024: mini Christmas tree farm!

a contributing factor to this year's theme,

O CHRISTMAS TREE 

was finding three gorgeous flocked trees at Target.

then i found two white ceramic trees for a buck each at a thrift shop.

all i had to do was add in a few trees i already had -

and give a few of them a makeover -

as well as make a few new trees,

and my mantel turned into a mini Christmas tree farm! 

continue reading for a few really fast tree tutorials...

these two detail shots show some of the trees up close...

along with my handy helper, elfie, who photobombs every shot

and supervises everything i do while eating white candy canes all day.

these are the three flocked trees from Target ($3 each)

and the two white ceramic trees from a thrift shop ($1 each)

there's also a tiny little green ceramic tree (not shown here)

that i picked up at a local vintage show for $2.

let me show you how i adapted or made the other trees:

last year, i gave some wood trees from Target a makeover 

and painted them with a faux terra cotta treatment.

this year, i slathered them in two shades of green paint. simple!

i made some new versions of some trees made in 2020 - 

i used double-sided tape to attach paint chip strips to posterboard,

cut in triangular tree shapes of varied sizes.

i tape each strip on (either horizontal or vertical) one at a time,

then cut the excess away from the triangle shape...

then i use the rest of the strip on the next row on the tree.

that approach doesn't leave a lot of waste.

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a quick word about sourcing paint strips/chips for crafting:

please don't go to your local DIY center's paint department

and load up on 'free' paint strips to use. those cost THEM money.

in 2020, i went to my local Sherwin Williams paint store

and asked if they had old, out-of-date paint fan decks that i could buy.

each year when paint companies release their new color collections,

they create new fan decks - and the old ones usually get thrown away.

the nice people at Sherwin Williams gave me THREE huge decks - 

enough to create over twelve different projects for my 2020 theme!

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also seen above is a ceramic tree that was previously painted yellow.

i just gave it a makeover with shades of green, replicating a paint strip.

one of the new trees i made this year is a simple paper tree.

i used a piece of posterboard that i have been using as a 'dropcloth'

on my studio painting work surface...

it's splattered, smeared, and blotched with varied shades of green paint.

turning my studio trash into treasure is a big bonus,

but you could use gift wrapping paper glued to posterboard.

i marked out triangular sections with pencil and cut them out,

starting with the largest sizes and working my way down to the smallest trees.

a fold down the center of each triangle gives them dimension

and helps them stand up on their own. 

that's it! easy-peasy!

to match the look, i took one small ceramic tree i already had

and painted it with the same i confetti pattern in multiple colors.

(it also matches the ornaments i painted this way)

when i put the mantel display together, 

i also included some white bottlebrush trees i had on hand

along with a white stuffed fleece tree on a stand.

(links to all of the former projects & tutorials are below this post)

all of the trees worked perfectly together in this space...

and since i kept hearing Taylor's 'Christmas Tree Farm' song as i worked,

i created the sign as a finishing touch.

here's a more simple arrangement, without the paper and paint chip trees.
you could also nestle your trees into a collection of Santa mugs!

related content:

'confetti' painted ornaments - holiday 2024

faux terra cotta trees - holiday 2023

paper paint chip trees . painted 'paint chip' trees - holiday 2020

other 'paint chip' projects - 2020

shared online:

my wee abode | tuesday turn about 

thank you for including my project in your feature, Julie!

funky junk interiors | new upcycle ideas #756

thank you for including my project in your feature, Donna!

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