• Holidays & Seasons

    Wood Shim Christmas Tree

    Hello! Welcome to Day 11 of The 12 Post of Christmas, where 12 blogs have come together to bring you a variety of amazing Christmas projects for $24 or less. So if you like to spend hundreds of dollars on each of your holiday decor items, then this post isn’t for you. But if you like cute, cheap, and easy projects then stick around and I will show you how I created an adorable wood shim Christmas Tree for less than $2.00.

    Wood Shim Tree Do It Yourself

    Supplies
    – Wood Shims – (I used Nelson Wood Shims, 1.25-in x 7.75-in.)
    – White Paint
    – Paint Brush
    – Hot Glue Gun and Glue Sticks

    DIY Wood Shim Project

    First, lay out all of the shims and brush them with one nice coat of white wash.

    Whitewash Wood Shim Christmas Tree

    I mixed up a solution of equal parts water and white paint. This seemed to give the wood a whitish look, but I loved how you could still see the wood grains through it.

    DIY Wood Shim Tree

    Once the paint dries, it’s time to assemble the tree. This process may sound a bit confusing, but trust me. It’s a breeze.

    Wood Shim Christmas Tree Collage copy

    1. Start by hot gluing a few of the wood shims flat on top of one another. Make sure to line up the narrow ends, which this will be at the top. For the trunk piece. you will want to glue it about 1 1/2 inches down from the top of the other glued pieces. It should stick out a little bit from the rest.

    2. After the trunk is in place, glue the next shim on top of the trunk. Line up the narrow end with the top of your tree, not the trunk piece you just placed. Continue to glue shims directly on top of each other. For balance, you will want an equal number of wood pieces on both sides of trunk. (I went with 5 on each side.)

    3.For the base, take two shims and glue them together. You will want the narrow end to line up with the thick end. This will create an even foundation for your tree to stand on. (A leaning tree might not be quite as cute in the end.)

    4. Finally, attach the tree trunk to the base with a dab of hot glue and you’re done! Yay!

    Wood Shim Christmas Tree

    This project is a fun modern spin on a traditional Christmas tree decoration. What do you think? I think I am in LOVE!

    __________________________________________________________________

    If you have not yet, be sure to check out all of the other amazing projects for the 12 Post of Christmas.

    12 Posts of Christmas 550x550

    1st Day

    DIY Passion

    2nd Day

    Little Red Brick House

    3rd Day

    Fynes Designs

    4th Day

    My Daily Randomness

    5th Day

    Houseologie

    6th Day

    The DIYDiary

    7th Day

    The Bold Abode

    8th Day

    Canary Street Crafts

    9th Day

    Here Nor There

    10th Day

    Making it in the Mountains

    11th Day

    Elizabeth Joan Designs

    12th Day

    Maddex Musings

    ____________________________________________________________________
    You may also like:

  • Home Decor

    There are Still Good People in This World

    With all of the horrible things happening daily in the news, every now and then, we can all use a reminder that there are still good people in this world. This is my story about a very wonderful stranger I had the pleasure of meeting.

    Last summer while shopping a garage sale, I purchased an awesome vintage crate. I had no real plan for it, but couldn’t just leave it sitting there. As I was walking to my car, a very nice lady who was just walking up asked if I knew if there were more of the same at the garage sale. She was looking for a few crates to use for her daughter’s vintage themed 1st B-day party. I told her I didn’t think there were, but if she wanted to buy the one I had just purchased off of me for the same price I paid, I would be more than happy to sell it to her. (As I really didn’t need it in the first place and wasn’t quite sure how I was going to explain bringing another crate in our home to my husband.) She took my offer and the crate went to a good home with an actual purpose in mind for it. As I was helping her load her car, she showed me a beautiful old bassinet she had just snagged at another sale. She was planning on using it for the b-day party as a place to put the gifts. I told her how much I loved it. We chatted for a few minutes about the b-day party plans and I shared with her that Erin and I have a blog together. She ask if I would be interested in the bassinet once she was done with it. Of course, I told her YES!

    DIY Bassinet Makeover

    Several months later I received this email from her:


    Hi Emily-
    This might sound strange, but I met you at a garage sale this summer. (You let me buy from you the crate that you just purchased.)
    As we were leaving I showed you an antique pink bassinet. You gave me your website and said you might be interested in this item.
    Now, months later, it’s sitting in my garage and taking up space. It is free to you if you can come pick it up.
    Let me know if interested, thanks!

    I had completely forgotten about the bassinet until I had heard from her. I was so excited! I made arrangements with her immediately and picked up my new bassinet.

    Once I got it home, I realized the pink was pretty and all, but it didn’t exactly match the decor in my home. So, it was makeover time.

    Antique Bassinet Makeover

    First, I mixed up a white-wash of equal parts white paint and water. It took three coats of this concoction to rid this entire piece of pink. Honestly, I chose to white-wash it vs. painting it because I was also white-washing another project simultaneously and laziness kicked in.

    Whitewash Wood Shim Christmas Tree

    Finally, I let it dry and it was done. Ah, a neutral color to decorate with. Yay!

    White Washed Bassinet

    This basket has already had a few purposes in our home.

    We used it to keep Christmas gift out of the reach of little hands. You may have seen this in our Christmas Home Tour.

    Home tour antique bassenett

    After that, it became storage for Christmas tissue paper, bows, and embellishments.

    Currently we are using it as a planter for a few extra veggies that didn’t fit in our garden.

    There are still good people in this world

    I am not sure what the future will hold for this antique bassinet, but I will always hold this sweet gesture from a complete stranger close to my heart.

    ___________________________________________________________

    You may also like:

  • Holidays & Seasons,  Home Decor

    Home for the Holidays Tour

    Hi and welcome to Emily’s home! Come on in!

    PicMonkey Collage EJD XMAS

    This is the decor of our entryway. I’m a pretty simple gal, so my decorating tends to reflect that.

    Entryway holiday home tour

    Christmas Home Tour Entryway

    One night, I was having the hardest time going to sleep. I decided to do a little chalkboard doodling in our playroom and was extremely pleased with this tree I drew.

    Chalktree home for the holidays tour

    In our Kitchen/Dining Room area I have hung my DIY Advent calendar. This has been a huge hit in our house. Saying my boys love it, is probably an understatement.

    DIY advent calendar home tour

    I am still keeping things simple here with my wood shim Christmas Tree.

    Wood Shim Christmas Tree

    Some of my favorite ways to decorate is with touches of nature found right in my very own backyard.

    Buffet Table Xmas home tour

    Styling this fireplace and mantle brought me so much joy, that I felt the need to spell it out for everyone to see. Do you like our dollar store stockings hung by the chimney with care? I think they add a nice pop of color to our very neutral Great-room.

    mantel EJD Xmas home tour

    Take a real good look at this pic. My two boys in the same photo! This almost never happens!

    Home for the Holidays Home Tour

    These two Santas are very special to me. Our grandpa had mad wood working skills and had cut these bad good boys out. Our mom painted the one on the left and the 10-year-old version of me painted the one on the right. (I know what your thinking, that I was a real prodigy, huh?) Our mother passed away when I 12 and these little guys became mine. When I was in my 20’s and moving all around the country, so did these Santas. I make sure they make my holiday decor cut every year.

    Christmas Home Tour Santas

    I found that this antique bassinet is a great way to keep our wrapped gifts safe from curious little fingers.

    Home tour antique bassenett

    Christmas decor bassenett

    My oldest son keeps telling me we NEED more Christmas decoration. To keep his holiday spirit up, together we added little festive touches to his room. His favorite part is that he got his very own tree.

    Christmas decor home tour

    >Ornament holiday tour

    Well, that’s it for the tour. Thanks for stopping by and Happy Holidays to you!