DIY Mini Christmas Tree using Real Branches
These DIY Mini Christmas Trees were made using recycled tree branches! When Andrew & I went to pick out our Christmas tree, I noticed they were burning the cut off tree branches and knew I could use them for Christmas crafts! I had a lot of décor ideas but ultimately I knew I wanted something to go on my front porch. We already have a ton of Christmas decorations inside our home, but our porch was dying for a splash of Christmas décor!
Once I settled on making a miniature Christmas tree, I knew I was going to need two, one on each step. I purchased my craft supplies from Michael’s and was ready to start my project!
Step 1: Cut Tree Branches to preferred size
To start, I clipped a bunch of branches and trimmed them to various sizes. I knew I would need the branches to decrease in size as I went up my trees, so I planned for that.
Step 2: Staring with the bottom, insert tree branches into cone
First, I decided to start with the larger floral foam cone. I grabbed a kebab stick to create holes in the foam to put the branches into. Some of the branches were sturdy enough to push into the foam without creating a hole first, but many were not. Since these cone Christmas trees are so similar to Amanda’s DIY Christmas Tree Cones, I decided to take a few lessons from her! I learned from her post that using hot glue on floral foam cones was not the way to go, so I had planned to use super glue instead! However, as I was moving along I realized the branches stayed in place really well on their own. The super glue was just slowing us down!
TIP: Leave 1/2-3/4 inches at the bottom of your mini Christmas Tree!
I started at the bottom of the tree and moved up one layer at a time. There was a bit of trial and error here as I worked through how big I wanted the trees to be. Keep in mind this does not have to be exact from the first layer! I was still trimming my mini trees after I finished adding all the branches.
TIP: Start with your first layer approx. 1/2 – 3/4 inches from the bottom of the tree. This will give you something to hold onto as you work and you can fill this space in later!
I started at the bottom
and moved up
one layer at a time
Step 3: Prune Tree
After I finished filling in the entire cone, I went back and trimmed up my branches a bit. Initially, it was looking more like a bush than a mini Christmas tree! I used Gardening Pruners that I purchased from Magnolia. When I purchased these, I had fully intended to use them for my hydrangea bushes. I never imagined myself pruning Christmas tree crafts with them!
With one tree done, I started on my second tree! I followed the same method, beginning at the bottom and working my way up. This time though, I knew not to start with such large branches!!
Despite knowing better this time around, I did end up pruning the tree once I finished filling up the cone to give it the perfect shape!
Prune your Christmas trees to give them the perfect shape!
Step 4: Place foam block into container/jar
With my trees finished, you would think the hard part would be over! However, I still needed to sort out what I was going to put the trees in. I had seen cute Christmas buckets on Michael’s website, however they were sold out in stores. Next year I’ll be more prepared! For this year, I decided to source what I already had in my house. On hand, I had a small tin-like bucket and a mason jar. I had purchased ribbon and burlap so I knew I could make these items work!
Step 5: Use a dowel to attach the tree to the foam block
Once I had my containers picked out, I needed to secure my trees! Using the foam blocks I purchased at Michael’s, I wanted a dowel to attach the tree to. I have a ton of left over branches, so I didn’t have to go looking! I pushed a branch into my foam block until it reached the bottom of the container. Then, I cut off the top a bit and then pushed my tree down onto the dowel. It was super simple and super effective!
TIP: If you are putting your mini Christmas Trees outside, add some weight to your containers so they won't blow over!
Step 6: Decorate container/jar
I was happy with the way my tine pale looked and chose not to add any more décor to it! I stuck a few more branches around the bottom and moved onto to my smaller tree!
For the mason jar, I knew burlap was the perfect Christmas tree décor. Initially, I intended to fill in the bottom of my Christmas tree with additional branches, however for my littler tree, this area ended up being ideal for tacking on my burlap! I wrapped my ribbon around the jar, tied a bow and was happy with the end product!
Step 7: Decorate Mini Christmas Trees!
I had wanted to add a star to the top of my trees and at first was planning to make one from paper. Very quickly I remembered they were going outside and paper Christmas tree stars would not hold up! I found indoor/outdoor string star lights and they were the perfect fit! I wrapped my star lights and another strand of standard string lights around my small Christmas trees and viola! They were porch ready!
I love the way these miniature Christmas trees turned out and I’m excited to DIY small Christmas tree ornaments to decorate them with! Also, I love that I don’t have to save these.. I can throw these out at the end of the holiday season and don’t have to worry about storing them for next year. Since we count all things in terms of DIYs, we are one project closer to Christmas!
DIY mini Christmas tree Links
DIY Mini Christmas Trees
Equipment
- Gardening Pruner
- Kebab Stick
- Tack Nails
materials
- 2 Cone Floral Foam
- 2 Foam Block
- Burlap
- Ribbon
- Tree Branches
- String Lights
- Container/Jar
Instructions
- Cut Tree Branches to preferred size.
- Staring with the bottom, stick tree branches into cone. Decrease length of branches as you move up the cone.
- Prune tree.
- Place foam block into container/jar.
- Use a dowel to attach the tree to the foam block.
- Decorate container/jar.
- Decorate Mini Christmas Trees!
