Greet your guests this holiday season by decorating your front porch with a unique 3D Christmas tree decoration sign! It’s easy to accomplish using a real branch, faux garland and with the help of a stencil! Could also be decorated as a winter tree to leave up well beyond Christmas! Here’s how!
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Christmas front porch signs are givens in the Christmas decorating world! They don’t take up much space, and are relatively easy to store after the fact. Or create an everyday sign on the other side and never store it again!
A few of my favorite past vertical signs are:
Joy Buffalo Check Ornament sign
Rustic JOY sign with snowflake
However, I have a huge affection for creating Christmas tree signs in particular! I love the fact that you can change up the decor each year to keep things ever changing and interesting, or just have them complete for a fabulous punch of festive!
A few Christmas tree themes that are my favorites:
Pallet wood Christmas tree sign
Herringbone Wood Christmas tree sign
How to paint a Christmas tree seedling
Wood Christmas tree with tree skirt crate
So while I was creating the painted Christmas seedling project HERE, I came up with another unique way to use the same stencil.
Inspired by my neighbour’s branch pruning he had stacked against the road, (boy, one never knows what will be a source of inspiration, huh?) I helped myself to some, and head into the workshop to see if my plan would work…
Not only did this super easy Christmas tree decoration with an artificial tree look work with flying colours, the 3D outcome is one of my favs to date! And would be so easy to revert to a winter tree so you could leave it up until spring!
Here’s what I did:
3D Christmas tree decoration for a front porch sign
Supplies you’ll need:
Christmas tree seedling stencil
Merry Christmas With Decorations stencil
Wood planks larger than the total stencil tree image (11″ wide x 28″ tall)
- My 3 boards measure: 5.5″w x 48″h each / Total size: 16″ wide x 48″ high
Real branch
Smaller faux evergreen branches
Fusion Mineral Paint (all supplies are 10% off) in Victorian Lace, Coal Black, Little Lamb
Americana Deco Art in Georgia Clay (to create rust)
Wider paint brush like this 2″ angled sash brush
Preparing the wood
1. Prepare boards to at least fit the size of the main tree stencil, plus a little extra breathing room.
3 boards were cut to size, then supported with two smaller support boards attached near the top and bottom of the boards with screws.
The Christmas Tree Seedling stencil image measures: 11″wide x 28″ tall.
- Each of the 3 boards measure 5.25″ wide x 48″ high
- Total boards combined: 16″ wide x 48″h
Painting the board backdrop
2. Paint the boards with Fusion Mineral Paint in Coal Black to create a dreamy night sky backdrop.
Desiring a fairly neutral color scheme for this sign, Coal Black was used for a deep backdrop that would contrast nicely with the upcoming stars, plus anywhere it sat. The coverage is so good, it only needed one coat of paint.
Christmas Tree Seedling stencil
Positioning the Christmas Tree Seedling stencil
3. Position the Christmas tree seedling stencil including just the tree and tin can in the center of the sign.
See Twinkle Stars stencil HERE
Twinkle Stars is a random star pattern stencil where perfect alignment does not matter! Simply position where desired, then continue the pattern in a random fashion. The larger and smaller stars creates a twinkling effect, especially if you stencil the paint with a mix of one coat and two!
Stenciling stars in the sky
4. Run some masking tape across the lower part of the stencil so it works like a door hinge.
5. Position the Twinkling Stars stencil in the upper left side of the sign, underneath the top left corner of the tree stencil.
6. Pull the tree stencil back, then stencil in the stars with Fusion’s Victorian Lace, paying attention to work the stars around the tree, not under it.
The masking tape hinge makes placing the stencil back up to check for star placement very easy.
Star stencil tips:
- Try some stars with two coats of paint and others with only 1 coat to create different shades, which resembled a twinkling star effect. It really works!
- Carry down the star pattern as far as you like. I went about ¾ of the way down the tree length, then faded the stars from full-out to nothing.
Aren’t they discreetly perfect? They add sky interest without stealing attention from the tree.
7. Stencil in the tin can Christmas tree skirt.
I started with Little Lamb which is a nice light-med grey if you wish to achieve a galvanized look.
Add some rusty can spots by stenciling along the edges of the can with Georgia Clay.
Merry Christmas with Decorations stencil is HERE
Merry Christmas with Decorations is a companion stencil to Christmas Tree Seedling, designed to work together to decorate the tree or tin can. Just the Merry Christmas part is used in the sign you’ll see today.
Stenciling a classic Merry Christmas sign
8. Add a Merry Christmas sign to the tin can (if desired)
The Merry Christmas message was positioned in the middle of the can, then stenciled with Georgia Clay.
To add some dimension to the words, a deeper mix of Georgia Clay and Coal Black were mixed, creating a deeper brown, then very lightly stenciled along the bottom of the letters only.
Adding snow accents with paint
9. Lightly paint some faux evergreen branches with Fusion Mineral Paint in Victorian Lace to mimic a snowy flocked tree.
An old evergreen garland with plenty of smaller branches was pulled apart, utilizing the separate sprigs as full Christmas tree branches.
The branches could also be painted completely for a white Christmas tree look!
Since the sign background was black, the added faux flocked look helped make the evergreen branches stand out moreso. Boy did that work out slick!
10. Cut a real branch to size, then hot glue it into place on the sign boards.
11. Hot glue the evergreen branches into place where desired. Attach any mini pinecones if you have some!
I referred to the help of the stencil design for branch placement inspiration.
Are you even ready to see how adorable this turned out?!
The finished tree sign
Ohhhh yes! I just adore this Christmas tree decoration as a porch sign! I also hung a couple of real Christmas tree antique gold ornaments to chime in with the rusty lettering.
The Christmas tree decorations are easy to change out each year since they were not glued into place. That makes for an enticing front porch sign that can change each holiday season!
Tip: Paint over the Merry Christmas on the tin can to turn this into a fun winter sign you can leave up until spring!
Now that’s a universal holiday decor porch sign.
Products to get this look:
Other tree decoration ideas:
- string plaid ribbons back and forth like garland
- attach tiny bows to the branches
- add a star tree topper
- hang mini string lights
- try a pop of color like classic red with different baubles
- position tiny candy canes from the branches
- add glitter to the stars for added sparkle
- cut real tin sheets for crafting for the can for added 3D texture
- string Christmas lights from branch to branch
- hang mini wood bead garlands from the branches
- craft homemade ornaments to hang
Winter tree ideas:
Since you can leave a winter-themed sign out for much longer, here’s a few ideas to make a winter tree:
- Leave the message neutral on the can.
- Paint more snow to the tree branches.
- Stencil the sky with Mini Snow Flurry stencil HERE to create a swirling snowy sky instead of stars.
- Attach a tiny faux bird or two to the branches hanging bird friendly treats from the tree, such as dried oranges.
Oh my goodness. I just inspired myself. Now I want a winter version with tiny birds and sprinkled bird seed all over the ground… I guess I’ll be revamping this after the new year!
All I know is, this tree is so fun to play with! It would make such a great workshop with others, or to create for gifts as well.
Video tutorial – How to create a 3D Christmas tree sign
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View video above to watch the Christmas tree sign in progress!
Gathering a few other small Christmas trees around the sign complete with tin can tree skirts totally sealed this industrial overall look, making a pretty fun front porch display right in time for all that December brings!
So whether it’s a Christmas tree decoration or a winter tree, the real branches really made this unique Christmas porch sign pop, don’t you think?
Now that’s an easy way to build a classic Christmas tree with holiday cheer charm! How would you design yours?
See other unique DIY wood Christmas trees HERE
Check out 37+ other wood Christmas decorating ideas HERE
Visit all my Christmas decorating tutorials from one page HERE
3D Christmas tree decoration for a front porch sign
Supplies:
Paint
Other supplies
- reclaimed wood planks to hold tree stencil image, measuring 11"w x 28" tall
- Real branch
- Smaller faux evergreen branches
- Wider paint brush like this Palm Pro
- Wider artist's brush
- Dome tip stencil brush
- Glue gun
- Masking tape
Instructions:
- Build a sign base that exceeds the tree stencil image, which measures 11" w x 28" tall. My overall sign measures: 16" w x 48" h.
- Paint the sign base in Fusion's Coal Black to create a deep night sky.
- Position the Christmas tree seedling stencil in place, then use masking tape to hold it in place with masking tape running across the stencil horizontally.
- Place the Twinkle Star stencil behind the tree, then stencil the stars with Fusion's Victorian Lace where the tree will not sit. Stencil until the sky is filled.
- Stencil the tin can with Fusion's Little Lamb. Add rusty effects with Georgian Clay.
- Add a Merry Christmas sign if desired, in Georgian Clay, with the Merry Christmas with Decorations stencil.
- Paint separated evergreen branches with Fusion's Victorian Lace to create snow.
- Hot glue or screw on a real branch for the stem of the tree.
- Add the evergreen branches with hot glue, using the stencil as a guideline.
- Decorate the tree with mini pinecones, or other ornaments as desired.
Love it! I just made your pallet Christmas tree for our porch and love it!
Absolutely unique! I love it!!
How cute.
I love this so much!!!
I love it!!!