Super Fun Way to Display Holiday Cards

Lisa L Hall
by Lisa L Hall
5 Materials
$9
2 Days
Easy
After years of putting cards on a counter top, taped to a door or wall, I just couldn't bear the thought of that AGAIN. So searching high and low, store after store, I still couldn't find what I was looking for. Then a I saw a picture of a cute tree stand for cards. I knew that is what I wanted to do. So I put together my list to see what I had on hand that I could repurpose and what I needed to buy. The tree I posting is perfect for an apartment or smaller living space. I do need to make a larger one for my own home but the steps are all the same.

This was very easy to make. The smaller scale version only needs hot glue to keep it together. The larger version will need screws and longer boards.

This project will take a couple days but that is only due to the drying time for the stain (or paint should you choose to paint yours).


To start I grabbed some of my stain, a brush, a 1x3 (cut to be 4 feet tall) and some 1/4 x 3 x 3 boards. Of these you can get at a local hardware store. I also have some acrylic paints that I was thinking of using but after seeing how the stain turned out, I didn't use them.
You can see that my staining technique is not a solid stain. I wanted a grain effect to resemble branches so I did a simple stroke with a little bit of stain. I did some arcs, crossed patterns and wispy type feathering.


Then I cut my thinner boards. These are going to be my branches. I left one the full length and then shortened each other board by 1-2 inches on each side for each subsequent layer.


These boards are really thin so I didn't need to use a power saw. A simple hand saw worked just fine.
So now was the fun part...putting everything together. I did measure everything 2 or 3 times prior to cutting my pieces. Always a good rule to follow with wood working. You can see more clearly now my gradient for my branches. Also, you can see the type of staining that I did in greater detail on this photo. I want it to look like a tree, not a solid stained piece. This is truly your desire. You may want it to make a piece of furniture. That's the best part...you have the design and the steps but make it your own.
So now was the time to hot glue the branches. You do need to be careful with this as you don't want the branches to tilt. So be sure to hold them very steady while the glue is drying. Hot glue dries fast so it's only about a minute and you can move on to your next branch.


To build your stand, I used the left over pieces that I cut when I made the branches. Again I used the hot glue gun. If I were making a larger tree with the bigger boards, I would use the same design but I would add L brackets and screws for additional strength.


I glued a piece to the base of the tree lying flat against one side. Once that was set I angled a smaller piece for a support. It was easiest to glue the bottom of the angled piece and then the top.


You will want to be near a wall or some structure so the tree can be held upright while you are gluing. Only do one side at a time.


Once this side was done, the tree was pretty much stationary so I was able to move to the other side.
You can see the bottom part of the support is up against the trunk of the tree.
Here is what the finished support will look like. I did add a bit of extra glue just to make sure I had everything covered.
Here is the finished project. depending on how many cards you get, you may need the larger tree. Remember this is a stand alone tree so you can put cards on both sides.
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 2 comments
  • Wendy Wendy on Dec 10, 2017

    I just love this, you are one creative crafter!!

    • Lisa L Hall Lisa L Hall on Dec 10, 2017
      Thank you...Just trying to keep up with all the crafty people in the community.
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