Junky Funky Christmas Tree

Hey girl, hey! So I played with a ton of my thrift store finds and came up with so many ideas of making a junky, funky Christmas tree! There are two videos, so if you want to jump to the end, just check out the second video, or follow along here! Of course, if you want some tips and tricks for crafting one of your own, check out both videos!

Supplies:

Dollar Tree: Metal trash can, fairy lights, metal flower pot (for base), craft sticks

Goodwill Outlet: Colanders, lace, lamp shades, metal star

Stash: Zip ties

Debi’s Design Diary DIY Paint: A mixture of greens

Walmart: Waverly Antique Wax

Let’s make it!

Y’all, I’m just letting the creative juices flow! I’m trying out several pieces to see how I want my tree to look. It’s a fun time for us to create and try different things! I’m hoping you’ll get some ideas of the various items I used and how you might add them to your crafting.

TIP: To repurpose an old lampshade: (see pix below) You can strip the fabric from a wired lamp shade, then just cut into the fabric and carefully rip each panel off. “Carefully” so you don’t bend the wires, but if you do, you can reshape them. Cut (or rip) pieces of fabric long enough to go over and back again so you can tie them at the bottom.

Now back to the tree! The bottom line here is this: when you’re wanting to make something and you’re thinking that you don’t have this or that, use what you’ve got, girl! You’ll see in a minute that I ended up using cardboard! That’s right, just plain ole cardboard!

There are lots of ways to use what you have, and here are some: (by the way, most of the supplies pictured below didn’t make the final cut, but keep testing out what you want your tree to look like!)

And here are some more! I painted the trash can green, and it looks like a lacey trim on our tree!

Here’s the design I liked best for the top: cardboard shaped as a cone, and because I loved that lacey looking layer from the Dollar Tree trash can, I cut another piece for the bottom edge.

Our friends on the live video helped me while deciding how to “finish” the cone. Lace? Dollar Tree tile? Strip a layer of cardboard and let the corrugated layer show?

Spoiler alert! The lace won!

I just cut a piece bigger than the cone, then trimmed to fit. I hot glued the lace to the cone.

Keep in mind, this is funky and junky! It doesn’t have to be perfect!

I trimmed, then shaped the top so it would go into a point. Hot glue is your friend!

Next, I put some of the Dollar Tree trash can along the inside edge. I used hot glue and pieces of craft sticks for extra security.

Painted lace!

Let’s break for just a moment to enjoy my Campbell’s Soup Halloween costume. It’s all explained in the video, but in case you’re wondering, it was $2.50 at a thrift store!

I used my Waverly Antique Wax mixed with a few spritzes of water to darken the “stump” of my tree. This is just a metal flower pot covered in paper, y’all.

Zip ties held all the metal together. It isn’t the “easiest” part of this project, but zip ties were the best option here.

Oh, and Pam made an appearance! She still has hair rollers flying everywhere.

E6000 glue has a permanent hold while hot glue gives a fast hold. I used both here, and even added lots of hot glue inside the cone, just to be sure.

I used my Waverly Antique Wax mixed with a little water to darken the edges on each layer.

I tried a couple of things with the lights, but going around the outside seemed to be the way to go. You can put them in sooner so they will shine through the holes. That would look great too!

I’ll Velcro the battery pack to the inside (bottom) of the cone so I can easily turn it on and off and also access the pack to change batteries.

The star on top is also funky mainly because of the way it fit in. It was part of a light garland, so the point is supposed to hang from the strand. I used the connection (which is actually at the top) to adhere it to the cone.