EASY Christmas Tree Display

EASY CHRISTMAS TREE DISPLAY

This is a very simple design, so don't worry. Even though it looks complicated, you'll see it's definitely not.

I started out with some plain pieces of pine boards from our local home goods department store, Lowes. Here's what they looked like. I grabbed a few in different sizes.

They come in various widths and lengths.

Then I just free handed, in pencil, some tree edges right on the board where I'd cut them out with a jigsaw.

 This is the shape of the edges you want to create.

Painted it a forest green all over and then dry rubbed on some black streaks for contrast.

The box I had found was perfect for a base. So I sit the base inside the box and screwed on the flat piece of lumber to the bottom. Just to make sure it had enough weight to hold it down in place while standing.

It was just an old rough piece I had on hand. It worked great. I didn't mind the previous existing nail holes to the right.

And to make a hanging spot for hooked items,

I just tapped in some small steeples, or some call them large staples.

They are just U shaped and strong enough to hammer in with ease.

Leave them sticking out far enough so you can hang items though!

And that was it!


Don't let the thought of it being complicated keep you from trying it.
It was really a simple cut out.  The hardest part was finding a box for the bottom and then screwing on an extra flat piece of wood for the base to stand strong.

See ya'll next time,
~Lisa

DIY PRIMITIVE SNOWMAN LID MAGNETS

This post is an expansion of a craft I did a few weeks ago.

You may recall the 

DIY PRIMITIVE SNOWMAN LID ORNAMENTS?

Well, this is basically the same only that I made more into magnets instead of hanging ornaments.

 Here's how I made them in case you want to give it a go. 

If you don't have any on hand, here's how they look in boxes at Walmart.

I started out with a bunch of plain ole, used, metal Mason Jar lids in two sizes of

Regular: 2 2/4"

Wide Mouth: 3 3/4"

Some were new and shiny, some old and rusty. It doesn't matter to me.

And I spray painted them a base color in various shades of green and maroon that I had on hand.

The white was used for speckling (snow) only because it's a cheaper can and doesn't cover good.

Here are the Rustoleum and Valspar that cover great in one coat:

After they dry, they are a flat, softer color. Then we're ready to get started painting with craft paint.

My favorite brand is Folk Art but I do have a lot of Apple Barrel on hand too.

Just start by making various circles for the basic face shape of the snowman. 

I use Antique White as the color.

Sometimes I dab my brush, sometimes swirl.

Then just on to the dots for the eyes, and carrots for the noses.

When you think of them all as dots and such, it's easier for me to paint, rather than thinking, "oh I have to paint a face." Dots and carrots come easier. ;-)

CLICK HERE TO VIEW MY HELP PAGE on DRAWING SNOWMAN FACES

Dot by Dot

And after they were all painted and dried, I simply went glued on some round magnets using E-6000 glue.

I always recommend the E-6000 glue over anything, especially hot glue because you want a good strong hold for magnets.  And with taking them on and off refrigerators and such, the E-6000 glue really holds up.

As for the magnets, you can get the good round ones at Walmart in the crafts section.

For the larger lids, I used the larger magnets and for the smaller lids, I used the smaller magnets.

And that is about all there was to it, besides adding a few decorations to the front.

I love homespun fabric on about anything. And to a few, I added a bell here and there.

And here they are all ready to go in my craft booth for the Christmas Open House.

I save my metal cans that food comes in such as green beans and baked beans to use as display tins.

I like having a variety of sizes to catch the eye.

I am pricing these for $1.99 each in my craft booth, un-packaged, with just a sticky price on the back.

I hope they will make for a quick, grab and give gift item!

What do you think? Would you give these as a lil' inexpensive Christmas gift?

See ya'll next time,

~Lisa

CHRISTMAS TREE ORNAMENT DISPLAY | Great for Craft Fairs or Displaying Favorite Ornaments

EASY CHRISTMAS TREE ORNAMENT DISPLAY

I thought I'd share with ya'll a cute wooden Christmas tree that I use to display my Christmas tree ornaments in my craft booth.
It would also be a cute way to display some of your favorites in your home too!

I didn't make this exact one, however it'd be super easy to construct. 

I won this at an auction in Northern, KY for only $1.00!!! LOVE IT! 

It didn't have the nails to hold things or the strand of lights, but the body of it was great.
I am thinking about making another one so I can sit one on each side of my booth. So here's how it's constructed.

So simple. (sorry, it was a lil blurry, i took these first 2 with my iphone & no flash.)

You can see it's basically a cut out of a smooth type plywood, in the shape of a sad Christmas tree. I say sad because the lil limbs all hand downward. lol. And it's painted a forest green.

Here's a closer up look at it, very easy to construct: front: (these below i took with a real camera lol.)

The base is super simple. The front had a piece knocked off when I got it, but I think it just adds a piece of character. 

It's just a flat piece of wood, kinda think, maybe an inch and has a lil weight to it.

Side:

It's braced with only a simple piece of wood, cut in a rectangle, that holds the tree frame to the base.

Back: again, very simple construction

And there are nails from the bottom of it, up into the pieces of wood. It's never fallen over and I've had it loaded over the past few  years with ornaments.

To make for some hanging spots, I took some headless nails and tacked them all up and down the tree to give me some hanging spots like so:

And oh yea, i took a dry brush and streaked it with some black because I wanted it to look a lil older to fit the theme of my booth. I also wish I'd had old rusty looking nails at the time, but I didn't.

And here it is again, all loaded down and lit up:

Here's a better photo to show the ornaments hanging.

And I also have a bunch of the hand painted ornaments finally listed on my Etsy now.

Here's a sneak peek at some of them.

I'm still working on these, but they are almost ready!

https://www.etsy.com/shop/SaltLickShop

I do believe these blue Frosty the Snowmen are my favorite. I just freehanded in a pipe at last second and love it. lol

And anyways, back to the tree display. Here's a side view.

 I hope seeing the way it's put together will help ya'll make one easier.

Well, I'm off to try my hand at one now.

Happy Crafting Ya'll,

~Lisa