By Nicci Boerefijn | SPLINTERS & SAWDUST
splinters.sawdust2831@gmail.com
There’s something wonderful about having a Christmas tree up over December. It adds to the holiday feeling and signifies that this is a time for family, food and festivities. It’s an opportunity to mark the year-end and add excitement and colour to the home. Rather than buy one this year, why not get to work creating one that will last for many years to come?
Some of the best memories of childhood are undoubtedly those of decorating the Christmas tree together once a year. Nowadays not everyone likes the thought of cutting down a living tree, so people have come up with really inventive ideas for artificial trees over the years. Lately though, the homemade DIY Christmas tree is all the rage – and we’ve included a comprehensive tutorial for making your own.
The origins of the Christmas tree tradition are not clear-cut and there are many stories and legends about how, when and where it all started. Some accounts say it began in medieval Livonia (now Estonia and Latvia), while others say it began in early Germany. The first documented use of a tree at Christmas and New Year celebrations is in 1441 in the city of Tallinn in Estonia. According to legend, it was put up by the ‘Brotherhood of Blackheads’, an association of local merchants, ship owners and foreigners. They are reported to have danced around the tree in merriment before burning it as some sort of symbolism.
The custom then became popular beyond the Lutheran areas of Germany and the Baltic countries during the second half of the 19th century, especially among the upper classes. Over the centuries, the “Christmas tree” has been decorated with roses made of coloured paper, silver tinsel, freshly picked apples, wafers, baked treats, candles and lights (once electricity was invented).
As the tradition spread, in some parts of northern Europe, cherry plants (or a branch of the plant) were placed into pots and brought inside in the hope that they would flower at Christmas time. Those who couldn’t afford a real plant made pyramids of wood, decorated to look like a tree with paper, apples and candles.
Today, affordability is not the only reason we often choose to make our own Christmas trees. We are far more conscious about the planet than we have ever been before, and many people don’t want to buy a living tree that will only die a few weeks later. We are also more informed about the dangers of plastic and so the popularity of the plastic artificial tree is dying too.
The other great reason to make your own is that it provides an opportunity to get creative – and get the kids involved in a fun weekend project. We’ve included a tutorial to do just that. Not only will this tree last a long time, it can also be made to look different every year with how you choose to varnish, stain or paint it, as well as with the items you choose to put on the little shelves.
Step 1
Collect the scrap wood you want to use.
Step 2
You will need some kind of backboard to stick everything to. Masonite works well – we decided we want our wall art to be a 400mm x 400mm piece.
Step 3
Start by placing your wood on the Masonite – no glue yet! You just want to find and fill the board. Cut off any overhanging pieces.
Step 4
Remove your pieces from the Masonite and remember not to mix them up.
Step 5
Collect your stains, containers and varnish.
Step 6
I like to use a large syringe instead of just pouring it into the containers.
Step 7
Now add your stain, small amounts at a time – you can always add more if you desire a darker colour, but cannot make it lighter afterwards.
Step 8
When using a small container, I find the best way to mix is to take a chopstick with a flat end and insert the round end into my drill and mix.
Step 9
You can play with the stain to create your perfect colour. Be sure to test every colour on a scrap piece of wood and let it dry to see the true colour.
Step 10
Paint your varnish with a good quality brush in thin layers, with the amount of layers depending on the look you want.
Step 11
You can also mix stains to create new colours.
Step 12
With your scrap wood still in order, start painting your different colours on the sides that will show when its complete. You can also leave some the original wood colour if you like.
Step 13
Starting on one side, glue your wood to the Masonite board, being sure to apply glue onto the whole surface area.
Step 14
Once it’s completely dry, you can seal the whole thing with the clear unstained varnish and then let that dry too.
Step 15
Add your choice of picture hanger hooks and you’re ready to hang it up!
As published in MarkToe Magazine