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December 1, 2017 · 11 Comments

DIY Scrap Wood Christmas Trees

Christmas· DIY Projects· Seasonal

This post is sponsored by Rust-Oleum, but all opinions are, as always, all mine. Thanks for supporting the brands that support Love & Renovations! 

Happy December! Can you believe it’s actually here? The end of 2017? I know it’s cheesy and cliche to say it, but I seriously feel like this year just started, and it’s already over.

Is this what getting old feels like?

Even though I’m still having a hard time wrapping my brain around the fact that the holidays are here, I’m incredibly excited nonetheless. Things have been really crazy in our lives lately what with a sudden decision to move a few months back, and just getting all moved into the new house right before Thanksgiving. Under normal circumstances, my home would be fully decked out by now, but since we’re still settling, we’re taking a slower approach this year.

But, I can’t resist at least one or two Christmas-decor-related posts, so I planned ahead to be sure I’d have something ready for you.

If you’ve been reading over the last few months, then you’ll know that we paired up with one of my very favorite brands, Rust-Oleum to show a few different ideas for mantel decor. We started off with our DIY mantel made from an old tree, then we chatted about a fun fall mantel idea using dollar store pumpkins, and today it’s all about decorating the mantel for Christmas.

You just thought we were done talking about the old house.

Yup, I’ve still got one more post up my sleeve featuring that beautiful fireplace we knocked out right before we listed the house – I mean, we put so much effort in, I might as well squeeze as much decorating as I can out of it, right?!

How to make easy DIY scrap wood Christmas trees for your holiday mantel. Great ideas for Christmas decor and a simple Christmas DIY project.

This post contains affiliate links. Click here to read my full disclosure policy. Adorable, no?

And, bonus – SO EASY!

When it comes to Christmas decor, I’m a big fan of rustic and traditional decor – I like natural textures, lots of trees, and a little bit of sparkle. So, when Rust-Oleum asked me to come up with a fun DIY idea for the holidays featuring some of their stains, I knew right away that I’d be making some scrap wood Christmas trees. They’re easy, cheap (or free!), and the perfect rustic-but-not-too-rustic piece to add to your Christmas mantel.

This project is so easy to make, and I love the finished look – it fits right in with the rest of our Christmas decor, and I just love the simplicity.

DIY scrap wood Christmas tree

For this project, I used some scrap 2×12 boards that we had from a project we did over the summer. To cut the trees out, all I did was use a marker to draw out the shape I wanted and use my jigsaw to cut it out.

Seriously. Tutorial over. It’s that simple!

Just kidding. I mean, it is that simple, but let’s dive a little deeper.

To draw the shape for the more traditional trees, I used a straight edge (I actually just used the lid from a Tupperware box that was sitting around – anything that will help you draw a straight line works just fine) to draw the general shape of it, then I drew lines in the middle for where each tier would be, and used the lid to help me draw the angles in. Clear as mud? Here, this picture might help:

Drawing shape for DIY scrap wood Christmas tree

This doesn’t need to be too precious or perfect – a little bit of imperfections in the shape of the tree just adds whimsy and character, and there’s nothing wrong with that.

For the other trees, I just drew a large triangle – sometimes I added a stem on, sometimes I didn’t. There wasn’t much rhyme or reason to the sizes and shapes that I drew – I just kept working until I had what I felt was a good variety and a good number of trees. When all was said and done, I used about two 6-foot boards to cut all of these out.

Easy scrap wood Christmas trees

Once they were all cut out, I sanded them down and got to staining. Before this project, I actually hadn’t ever played around with colors of stain other than plain ol’ brown – I haven’t had much of a reason to stain anything white or gray, so it’s not something I was familiar with. So, I was really looking forward to trying out some new (to me) colors, and these didn’t disappoint. They go on so beautifully, and I love that it’s a more rustic look than paint would be, but the color is still rich and warm.

Rust-Oleum wood stain

White Rust-Oleum wood stain

I went with four different colors for these trees:

  • Briarsmoke
  • Antique White
  • Weathered Gray
  • Dark Walnut

I was shooting for a good mix of neutral colors that would blend right in with just about any decor – I think they all look pretty beautiful together, and I can’t wait to find an excuse to work with these colors again! Briarsmoke, in particular, might just be my favorite – it’s a gorgeous brown with a good amount of gray in it, and I just love how it looks on the finished trees.

But, wait. I know what you might be thinking.

If you’re shaking your head right now because you’ve never stained wood and have no idea how, let me help. I did a quick tutorial on Facebook recently for how I stain wood – there’s really no science to it and it’s one of the easiest ways to finish furniture if you ask me, so don’t be intimidated by it! I promise, it’s simple.

Simple, rustic DIY scrap wood Christmas trees

Easy and simple scrap wood Christmas trees

Once I had everything all stained, all that was left to do was put them up on the mantel! I had originally thought I’d add some other decor in with them, but I loved how they looked all by themselves, so I decided to keep it simple. I love how this look really embraces a more neutral approach to Christmas decor, and I think it would look fabulous in a room with lots of red and green and more traditional decorations.

I haven’t finished decorating our new house for Christmas yet (long story, but it involves new flooring and you’ve probably seen some peeks on Instagram if you follow me there!) but I’ll definitely be using these guys in the new house this year as well. I’m thinking I might set them up in our bedroom, where we tend to keep things a bit more simple than we do in the rest of the house. I’ll keep you posted when I decide!

How to make adorable DIY scrap wood Christmas trees for your mantel this holiday season

Simple DIY scrap wood Christmas trees

How to make DIY scrap wood Christmas trees

For now? I’ll just keep staring at these photos and pretending like my house is actually decorated and adorable. When, in reality, it kind of just looks like a bomb went off in the living room most of the time.

Ah well, there’s always next year, right?!

How to make simple DIY scrap wood Christmas trees

Tutorial for DIY scrap wood Christmas trees

Have you finished decorating your home for the holidays yet?! Any fabulous ideas for where else I should try out my pretty new white and gray Rust-Oleum stain colors? I’d love suggestions!

Previous Post: « Settling in to the New House
Next Post: Quick & Simple DIY Christmas Decor »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Heather says

    October 29, 2020 at 12:26 pm

    I love this idea, my brother works at Rockler and they have this fabulous bin of scrap wood that you buy by the pound, and they have some beautiful woods such as Purple Heart. Needless to say, I am going to make some of these trees for my mantle.

    Reply
  2. Ashley says

    November 14, 2019 at 10:31 am

    Love the trees, but I especially love the layout of your fireplace, the mantel setup, and the faux deer head…😍 Did you make the head-mount yourself, or did you buy it? I’ve been working on my own for a while now, but I feel like I never get the antlers right, and yours are gorgeous!!! Lmk how you did it, or where you found it, please. Thanks so much!

    Reply
    • Amanda Hendrix says

      November 14, 2019 at 1:36 pm

      Thanks, Ashley – I did not make it, it’s from Z Gallerie a few years back. I’m not sure if they sell it anymore, but that’s where we got it!

      Reply
  3. Greg says

    August 21, 2018 at 9:45 am

    You didn’t perhaps trace the trees and scan into PDF files? That would take all of the guess work out. These look amazing.

    Thanks,

    Greg

    Reply
    • Amanda says

      August 23, 2018 at 10:57 am

      I didn’t! But, they’re very easy to design on your own with the steps I listed, and a bit of variation is a great thing- you want them to look rustic! 🙂

      Reply
  4. Barb says

    April 26, 2018 at 9:44 am

    Did you, by chance, record your self cutting out the trees and sanding them? I am new to this and would feel more confident watching it being done before I attempt this project, Thank you.

    Reply
    • Amanda says

      April 26, 2018 at 9:47 am

      Hi Barb – I didn’t take a video of this particular project, but I do have a video on how to use a jigsaw! It involves a similar project, so it may help. You can see it here.

      Reply
  5. Emily says

    December 16, 2017 at 2:41 pm

    These are so cool! I love the look of all of them spread across your mantel! Thanks for linking up with Merry Monday – I’ll be featuring your DIY trees at our upcoming party 🙂

    Reply
    • Amanda says

      December 18, 2017 at 12:23 pm

      Thanks, Emily!

      Reply
  6. Samantha says

    December 4, 2017 at 4:28 am

    Hi Amanda! This is such a cute project and what a great use of leftover wood pieces! Your color picks are awesome and I will definitely be pinning this to make the trees but to use your color choices too. Keep the inspiration coming! 🙂

    Reply
    • Amanda says

      December 4, 2017 at 2:00 pm

      Thanks, Samantha!

      Reply

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Overwhelmed by DIY? Let's do it together! I'm Amanda, and I live in the suburbs of Austin, Texas with my husband and two sons. I've taught myself how to make simple updates to help make my house a home, and I want to show you how to do it, too. Click here to learn more about us.

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