Hi everyone and welcome!
Today’s project is something I made out of the scrap wood leftover from a DIY coffee table that I made that will be coming to my blog soon!
This is such an easy and cheap project that can make a huge difference for your Christmas tree! Before I made this box for our Christmas tree, it looked really bare and definitely needed something. Now we have one finished, happy looking tree in our boys’ toy room! All because of a super simple project that I made out of my scrap wood! Yes! I’m all about simple and easy, especially during Christmas time!
Okay, so let’s get started already as I know everyone is super busy around this time of year.
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Here is what you’ll need:
- 1×6 boards, or any scrap pieces that you have lying around. It has to be enough wood to cover the base of your tree. I had 1 x 6’s leftover so that is what I used.
- Chop Saw or Table Saw
- Wood Glue
- Nail Gun (or hammer and nails) and finishing nails
- *(Optional) Wood Stain. I used Minwax’s dark walnut. Your wood doesn’t need to be stained if you prefer it’s original color.
- *(Optional) Sander Your box doesn’t need to be sanded either. I only did it to get off some of my son’s scribbles,(yes, he scribbled all over some of my scraps. ha!) and to smooth down the edges a little.
Let’s get to this already and give your tree a perfect holder to complete it!
- Measure the base of your tree to see what size boards you need. I made two sides of my box shorter so that they would fit perfectly into a box shape.
- Using your chop or table saw cut 4 boards longer. My longer boards were 20 inches. Then cut your 4 shorter boards. My shorter boards were 18.5 inches long. (If your using any 1 x whatever size board, the 1 inch is actually 3/4 of an inch which is why I made my boards 1 1/2 inches shorter.)
- Now that you have all your wood cut, take one of your longer pieces and one of your shorter pieces, put them together at the edge making a perfect L shape or a perfect 90 degree angle. Once it looks perfect apply your glue on the end of your shorter piece and stick it to the end of your longer piece. Once that glue sets a little and your angle looks perfect, nail those pieces together using your nail gun.
- Repeat that last step to make the bottom level of your box, which is glue the ends and nail gun it into place making sure it is straight and lined up perfectly first.
- Now you are going to do the same thing, but you’re going to glue along the top on your bottom layer of wood when attaching the top layer of wood. Tip: Glue towards the inside of your box so that when you set your top layer of wood on, if any glue drips down, it drips down the inside of your box where nobody can see. This is helpful if you’re applying stain because stain doesn’t go over dried glue. If it does drip down the outside wipe it off, and try not to worry. That’s what you have four sides for!:) I definitely have some glue spots on the first side I did because I didn’t think about glueing towards the inside until after that incident. Glad I can help you guys through my mistakes!
- Optional Step: Sand down your finished box and stain your wood to your liking. I chose Minwax’s Dark Walnut stain. Also optional, coat that in a polyurethane sealant to keep it protected. That is all up to you!
*Note: This box does not have a bottom section to it. That’s because it is just to cover the bottom of your tree up, but it you want to make this into a real box, then you would just add some more wood to the bottom of your box. I just set my tree into my box and I made this out of my scrap wood so I didn’t make it with a bottom piece. Again, this is up to you as well! That’s the fun of doing DIY’s; you can make them any way you want!
You’re done!!! Yessss!!
You only have one job left to do! If you do make this project, be sure to leave a picture in the comment section below so we can see how amazingly yours turned out, and/or, tag me on Instagram @thedecormama so I can see and share your creation! That’s it, now you’re officially done!
Also, if you love Christmas as much as I do and want to add more rustic Christmas charm to your house, then check out my DIY Embroidery Hoop Christmas Wreath. It would match perfectly with your new box, and it’s a super simple and cheap way to add more Christmas decor to your house. Winning!
Thanks so much for coming and I can’t wait to see your Christmas tree boxes!
I hope you have a very Merry Christmas, and I’ll see you really soon for my next project!
XOXO,
Lauren
The Decor Mama