Well, you won’t believe what I did. I’m not even going to give you three guesses before I tell you. Last Christmas I decided that I was going to change up my décor, so I sold almost everything that I had used for the last few years. How’s that for a commitment? I knew I would procrastinate without the right motivation, so I made sure I had no choice but to replace the things that I sold. So here I am at the end of July thinking of festive ideas for my Christmas décor.
I decided that I wanted to do a woodland theme. So, most of the DIYs I will do this Christmas is going to be about bringing the outdoors in.
Christmas Tree Charcuterie Board
Cutting boards, serving trays, and charcuterie boards. Whatever you call them, they are a big hit when I take a few to my shows. I like to make them for the holidays because other than the Christmas Tree shape, there is nothing that screams “Christmas.” This means that I can find materials to make them all year long. The Home Depot is right around the corner, so I stop there often to look through the discounted wood. I found these pieces a few weeks ago and I knew exactly what I was going to do with them.
Last year I made these boards in two sizes. The large ones sold quicker, so I am only making those this year. I drew out a shape that I liked and then scanned it into my computer. I wanted mine to be about 18” so I sent the file to Office Depot to be printed. You can send your digital files to their print department and pick them up later the same day. This is such a convenience for a crafter like me.
I cut the image out then I traced it unto a thick matte board. I cut my template out and I’ve used it over and over. I have a folder of templates that I keep in my workshop. I like to do things once!
To use the template that I made, I trace around it with a pencil onto the board. I cut the shape out with my jigsaw. If you don’t have a jigsaw, I would encourage you to get one. It is one of the safest power tools to use and it’s an easy tool to learn. When you get your first power tool, pick up a pair of safety goggles too. Oh! And one more thing. Use the scroll saw blade when you’re cutting out your Christmas Tree. It’s a much finer blade and your sanding will go faster.
To clean up all the edges of my tree and give it a finished look, I sanded the whole thing with my detail sander. I wear a mask when I sand because it’s not good to breathe in all that dust. I want all those edges to be slightly rounded. When I finished the sanding, I stained it all over with a gel stain. I let it dry completely then I drilled a hole on the top. I used a stain pen to touch up the hole, so no raw wood showed. I used my jigsaw to cut out a star, then I attached both pieces together with a piece of rawhide. I love the way that the star finished this project!
I gave the tree and the star a few coats of mineral oil to finish them and make them food safe. I tell my customers if their boards start to look worn and tired, to give them a good coat of olive oil. Rub it in good and the boards will soak it up
These Christmas tree charcuterie boards make great gifts. Last year our church group played the old white elephant game, and this gift was the most fought over.
Planter Bucket Candle
This is another super simple project that you can customize for any holiday or occasion. I am making this to give as a gift and I happen to know that this person likes buffalo check and black. So, I spray-painted the bucket in matte black. I picked this bucket up at The Dollar Tree.
If you don’t like this one, there are several more varieties there. I did notice during my shopping trip this afternoon, that they had put away all the spring décor and replaced it with fall stuff. Pretty soon it really will be Christmas in July!
While it was drying. I melted down three Dollar Tree candles. I just did this in a Dutch oven pan on my stovetop over medium heat. While I was waiting for my wax to melt, I added three wicks to the bottom of my bucket. It’s a wide bucket and three wicks will help the wax burn more evenly. To attach the wicks to the bottom, I dabbed the metal weights with a small amount of hot glue. To make the wicks stay where I wanted them to, I wrapped the ends around skewers and laid them across the top of the bucket. As the wax melted, I pushed the tops of the candles down into the jars so it would get hot too.
If you need to order wicks, you can use my affiliate link.
After the wax was completely melted, I lifted the jars from the water using a silicone oven mitt and poured it into my bucket. While the wax dried, I gathered my ribbon and embellishments. I used hot glue to attach the ribbon around the bucket and then created a swag for the front. These are pieces I salvaged from the Christmas tree that I threw on the curb last year. Does anybody know how to DIY a Christmas tree? I guess finding a tree will be my first task of the holiday season.
I used hot glue to attach the swag to the front of my bucket candle and the project was complete.
Until next time – happy crafting!
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