Funky Junk Interiors

I’m embarrassed to admit, I can’t remember the last time I decorated outdoors for Christmas.

Much of that has to do with the front door and side windows needing paint.

And the concrete needing work.

And the whole outside needing… a good farmhouse experience. Or something.

Or a pretty for sale sign on the front yard would work wonders…

When things aren’t up to par, they don’t make for great backgrounds!

So as I was glancing around my festive, surrounding neighbour’s front porches of cute toboggans and pretty greens, I looked at my own mess, called myself a scrooge, and vowed to change that this year.

With a Scrooge-less reclaimed wood Christmas tree and star for the front porch!

Remember all that amazing, chippy fence wood I picked up not long ago?

Grabbing from my wonderful stacked setup in the workshop, I set to work.

This post contains some affiliate links, so you can easily find everything you need.

How to make a stand

First you need a stand. 

1. Cut two equal wood pieces, and two small supports.

2. Layer as pictured.

3. Predrill holes, then screw the works together.

My fav cordless drill in the whole wide world is the Makita HERE. (affiliate link)

4. Attach a tall post to the stand from the bottom. 

5. Cat proofing a huge bonus.

After thought: I’d criss cross the stand against the post if I made another, rather than having it sit like a plus sign. I think a criss cross would offer more stability.

Oh… and a little bigger too.

Call this one a 10pm brainstorm.

How to cut the tree boards

I wanted to figure out an easy way to cut all the boards evenly without having to take a tape measure to them. I believe this is it!

1. Swing your miter saw to a desired angle for your Christmas tree edges.

Everyone needs a miter saw. Here’s my DREAM SAW. (affiliate link)


2. Starting with the bottom of the tree, cut the longest board first. 

* My first board was 28″ long, x 4″ deep. The tree ended up being 38″ tall. I suggest to cut all your small planks first, then the post last, to ensure it’s long enough for your tree.

Chop one side…


… then flip the board over, and cut the other side to your desired length.


2. To cut your next board, cut one edge first, lay your fully cut board on top of the new board, and pencil in the same length.

3. Adjust board in miter saw until the pencil mark hits the 2, then cut.

Repeat, using your newest cut board as your new guide.

This will cut all your boards 2″ shorter from the last.

4. Mark the centre of each board, and screw to the post.

My tree used one screw on each board.

Seriously. I plan to take it apart after Christmas and reuse the wood. (since I don’t have room to store it!)


How to make a reclaimed wood star using scrap wood tips

I didn’t want to go to a ton of work making a perfect star. No patience for that.

So… I used the edge cuts from the tree boards to build this. How easy is that?

With one exception. The top peak will have to be custom cut, to align with the bottom legs. 

1. Cut angle pieces as shown.

2. Once your pieces are cut, pre drill holes, then attach with short screws.

3. Attach a large hinge behind the star, to attach to the tree.


Decorate as desired!

It looked really cute strung from side to side with white mini lights too, but my outdoor plug doesn’t work.

(whatever)

Set against the Christmas tree branches I found on the ground, it’s a festive indication on what lies beyond that unpainted front door… 🙂

Wouldn’t this be cute hung in an entry, loaded with key hooks?

If you did that, I’d just attach each board directly to the wall. Because ‘drywall filler’ happens to be my middle name…

Mason jar pinecone twig garland tutorial is HERE.


What scrooge? 🙂