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Nov 26, 2012

Christmas Tree Off the Wall? No, It's on the Wall!

Wow, what a busy weekend! I don't think I stopped to breathe once! I ran 6km, took the dogs for a hike through the snowy woods to gather branches, cooked meals for the entire week, sanded a few kitchen cabinet doors, and put up my first Christmas decorations.

Christmas branch tree on the wall - Turtles and Tails blog

Sweet, right?

We don't have a lot of space in the basement family room, so a tree that takes up next to no floor space is just the thing.

Christmas branch tree on the wall - Turtles and Tails blog

We took the dogs tromping through Vivian Forest on Saturday to find fallen tree branches. We were looking for one fairly straight, at least 3 feet long, and in graduating diameters. I took one of those huge IKEA bags to carry them all in (plus some gorgeous greenery) and had it slung over my shoulder like a quiver. Yes, Tom made me carry the whole thing. But he picks up the dog poop, so I guess it's a fair trade off.

Once home, we cut the branches down to the correct lengths and then drilled a small hole through the midpoint of each one. I planned to string twine down through the centre of each one and hang it all together. You could attach each branch individually to the wall, but I thought that was going to end up being a lot of nail holes so I went with the twine..

I then put as many of the branches in the oven as would fit, and baked them at 200 degrees to make sure no bugs would make an appearance later. I learned from the fall acorns and never want to experience that again.


Using a large darning needle I pulled about 5 feet of twine through the hole in the first branch and tied a knot under the branch to hold it in place. I then pulled the needle and twine through the next branch, made sure there was about a 4 inch gap between the two branches and tied a knot under the second one. I then continued on until all of the branches were strung.

Christmas branch tree on the wall - Turtles and Tails blog

The whole thing weighs at least 20 pounds so we used a "biter" picture-hanging hook to hang it from the wall. I used a left over piece of the last branch as a tree stump, wrapped the remaining twine around it, and wedged it between the lowest branch and the floor.


We used double-sided tape in strategic spots to keep the branches level on the wall, and zigzagged a string of 100 mini-lights back and forth down the tree, hooking them over the ends of the branches (and using staples a couple of times to hold them in place).

Christmas branch tree on the wall - Turtles and Tails blog

The double-sided tape isn't very strong so I had to use the lightest ornaments we had and just a few of them at that. I settled on the drums (a personal favourite) and violins that we've had for years.

drum ornament - Turtles and Tails blog

violin ornament - Turtles and Tails blog

For the star, I used a real starfish that I bought at Goodwill earlier this year. I'm so terrified it'll fall that there are 4 pieces of double-sided tape on the back of it. I might also loop a string around it and tie it to the tree so that if it does fall, it'll only fall a few inches. I'm not so worried that it'll break (it's falling onto carpet), but that Sasha will find it before I do. She has a strange fascination with the thing - she must smell something I don't.

starfish tree decoration - Turtles and Tails blog

We have next to no natural light in the basement, so the pictures aren't as clear as I'd like, but isn't a hazy glow from the tree kind of nice anyway?

Christmas branch tree on the wall - Turtles and Tails blog

Christmas branch tree on the wall - Turtles and Tails blog

Christmas branch tree on the wall - Turtles and Tails blog


~~~~~

I'm linking up here this week!


61 comments:

Maria said...

How beautiful! I love this idea! So simple and pretty, love all the lights!

Janet said...

That is beautiful!! If I had the stamina to be able to do this, my tree would be on the wall for sure. Last year my 3 (yes three) standard poodles (average weight 50 lbs.) kept running through the tree, stood in the end of the hall for some stability. Love your idea.
Janet

Faye (MacGIRLver) said...

This is stunning! What a great idea!

Dana Bee said...

What a clever and beautiful idea! Thanks for sharing. We are traveling the day after Christmas this year so we will be using our artificial tree for the first time in several years. Ugh. But it can be left up til we're home and ready and able to take it down and the money we save on the tree can help pay for fuel to travel. Merry Christmas! Thanks for sharing your wonderful crafts and life through your blog!

meet.make.laugh. said...

This looks awesome!!!

Kaysi said...

I love this!!!

Angell said...

What a cool idea!

zingzingtree.com said...

I love this. So effective :)

dixiendottie said...

This is super creative! Love it! Would also love if you'd join our Countdown to Christmas link party! Hope to see you there! Have a great week! :)
http://dixie-n-dottie.blogspot.com/2012_11_27_archive.html

Beth @ Aunt B's Kitchen said...

What a charming idea! Thank you for sharing it.

Sumo said...

What a creative use of space! It looks great! I'll be featuring this on my blog on Saturday!

http://www.sumossweetstuff.com

Thanks!

Sumo:)

Laurie Ann said...

Very creative! Love it!
http://www.the-finishing-touches.net/

K Coake said...

What a pretty idea! I had no idea you could bake the wood to get the bugs out...great idea. Love the tree!

Crystelle Boutique said...

I thinkthis might just be the cutest tree I've ever seen..! How perfect for people with limited space!


hugs x
Crystelle

Shannon said...

what a cool idea! I love it :)
Shannon @ Sewing Barefoot

Cheryl@Sew Can Do said...

This is so original! I could see something similar selling for big bucks through somewhere like Pottery Barn as a "Rustic Tree". Thanks for linking to Craftastic Monday at Sew Can Do:)

michele said...

Love your wall tree!!!!! The baking and debugging is a great idea:) Following your blog now. Follow me too at www.sewsweetvintage.com I posted reversible note board to the think tank party:)

michelle@somedaycrafts said...

Such a fun idea. I love it! I am featuring it at somedaycrafts.blogspot.com.

Hani Shabbir said...

Wow, lovely idea.. Pinning it! :)
Thanks for linking up at Friday Fun Party.

amber said...

I wish I had seen this earlier. We did ours this way after seeing a similar pin, but it had no instructions or helpful hints. The tree on the wall is perfect for our little space though, and yours turned out beautifully as well. :)

Jade C. said...

I found you from the Ladybird Ln. party...and your tree caught my eye right away! I love this idea!! Thanks so much for sharing!
Jade @ sweetbabymasonjames.blogspot.com

Christina at I Gotta Create! said...

What a FANTASTIC idea! Can be used no matter how small a space you have. Hmmmm... thinking about where to put this into play at my place ;)

Thanks so much for linking up,

<3 Christina at I Gotta Create!

BarbSteadman said...

Thanks!

BarbSteadman said...

Thank you!

BarbSteadman said...

Thank you!

BarbSteadman said...

Thanks, Michelle!

BarbSteadman said...

Thanks, Shannon!

BarbSteadman said...

Thanks!

BarbSteadman said...

As long as you keep the temperature low, the wood won't burn. And the bugs I got last time scared me too much not to!

BarbSteadman said...

Thanks!

BarbSteadman said...

Thank you!

BarbSteadman said...

Thank you!

BarbSteadman said...

Thanks!

BarbSteadman said...

Our youngest dog likes to eat the ornaments. The bottom half of the tree gets only chew-proof ones. And there is no tail wagging allowed near the tree. :-)

Nicole said...

That is so pretty and original!

Jamie @ Love Bakes Good Cakes said...

Love this idea! Thank you for sharing at All my Bloggy Friends. I can't wait to see what you share this week.

marilyn said...

I love this twist on the Christmas tree...beautiful! Thanks for sharing on the homemade holiday party.

Marilyn

4you-withlove.blogspot.com

Steph said...

How fun--love this!

Leslie Stewart said...

Thank you so much for sharing your branch tree at my Twirl & Take a Bow party! Stop by today to see it featured. Grab a featured button and have a great week!
Leslie
House on the Way

BarbSteadman said...

Thanks, Leslie!

BarbSteadman said...

Thank you!

BarbSteadman said...

Thank you!

BarbSteadman said...

Thank you!

Carrie said...

What a great idea for small spaces!! Thanks for linking it up to Think Tank Thursday...we hope to see you again tomorrow night.

Rebecca @ My Girlish Whims said...

Thanks so much for linking up to Your Whims Wednesday, I featured this on my blog tonight! Come stop by and grab a featured button: http://www.mygirlishwhims.com/2012/12/your-whims-wednesdday-88-and-features.html

Amy Greene said...

Cute, Cute, Cute. I love the star fish at the top. Thanks so much for sharing at our Pin It party @Pounds4Pennies.

Milynn L said...

Love this idea! So creative and inexpensive. I pinned an image and so I can do this next year!

Jerri said...

I love these. Such a fun idea! Thanks for linking up with me for Friday Favorites. I'm featuring you this week!

cassie said...

YES!!! i totally LOVE this!!!

Jennifer Dawn said...

What a creative idea! Thanks for sharing!

Tuula @ The Thrifty Rebel said...

This is such a cool idea! Very creative! Would love it if you'd link this up to the Winter Wonders & Holiday Happenings link party that I'm co-hosting. Hope to see you there. Have a fabulously festive week!

Tuula :)
http://www.thriftyrebel.com/2012/12/winter-wonders-holiday-happenings-link.html

karah said...

so, so pretty barb!!!

BarbSteadman said...

Thanks!

BarbSteadman said...

Thank you!

BarbSteadman said...

Thanks, Rebecca!

BarbSteadman said...

Thank you!

Barb @ Turtles and Tails said...

Thanks, Alice, I'm glad you liked it. It was fun to make!

Barb @ Turtles and Tails said...

This is a great idea and I have tons of sticks from my neighbors Mulberry trim. Thanks for the inspiration.

Barb @ Turtles and Tails said...

Thank you very much for the idea Barb, but this year we have a little problem. We would have had a lot of decorations up but our house is a little small and we have a new addition, a baby who wants to touch everything. Now we have an idea for an easy, cheap and difficult-to-touch Christmas tree. I'll post pictures when it's ready.

Barb @ Turtles and Tails said...

I love this idea Barb so super cool - have just pinned it on my Christmas 2013 board, Alice x

Barb @ Turtles and Tails said...

I'm looking forward to it! And congratulations on the new arrival!

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