At Christmas time I love my home to be filled with lots of Christmas trees and one of my favorites are the simple Swedish Trees. If you're lucky enough to find them this time of year...let's just say they cost more than they should.
I found an easy and inexpensive way to make your own little forest of Christmas trees...and it is a fun family project too. I found the materials for this project in my canning cupboard and at my local Hobby Lobby.
Materials
Small Jelly Jars
Styrofoam Block
Wood Dowels the Size of a Small Pencil
Colored Stain
Hot Glue Gun
Make It Christmas - Tree Branches ($2.99 per pack)
Make It Christmas - Snowballs ($1.99 per bag)
Wire Snips
1. Cut a small piece of Styrofoam off the block and hot glue it into the bottom of your jelly jar. (Make sure the piece is small enough that you will have side room for your snowballs.)
2. Cut your wood dowels into 8 to 10" pieces. Run one end through a pencil sharpener to make a point for the top of the tree. Stain dowels with your favorite stain color. I used weathered oak for mine. Let dry.
3. Take the center of a piece of the Make It Christmas tree branches and wrap around the tree twice. Straighten out flat. Repeat five times up the trunk.
4. Use your wire snips to trim the ends of the trees. Go from large at the bottom to small at the top. Straighten your branches again.
5. Push your trunk straight into the Styrofoam piece so the trunk stands tall. Pull out and squirt a bit of hot glue into the hole and push the trunk back into the hole. Hold in place until cool and firm.
6. Fill your jelly cups with the Make It Christmas snowballs and your Swedish Trees are done!
I love these little trees. I placed two of these in each window of my house along with our Light of Christ candles. They look so traditional and give a little Christmas cheer to a usually un-decorated place in my house. I'm making a few more this weekend to give to friends and family.