Hey y’all. Hurting for one. last. Christmas gift?

I can help.

This is a quick DIY gift I made for my mom who didn’t want to put up a Christmas tree this year. So I made her one that requires zero effort to put up and enjoy.

Here’s what you’ll need:

• Some wood (I just some two-by-fours and planks from an old fence)
• Some nails (You’ll want something with a good sized head but any sort of nail will work. Just make sure you have a bunch so they’ll match.)
• Some string in a color of your choice (I used crochet thread that I got at Hobby Lobby)
• Some battery powered Christmas lights (I got mine at Hobby Lobby last year – the stars were removable which allowed me to have a star at the top of the tree. They didn’t have the same lights this year but there were tons of fun options. I’m not giving you a link because there are SO. MANY. CHOICES.)
• You’ll also need a hammer, a drill with a bit slightly smaller than your chosen nails, a tape measure or ruler, and a saw. And safety glasses and gloves. You can also sand and stain the wood if you want to get fancy but I didn’t. It was weathered to a beautiful gray. I just cleaned it up with a stiff brush.

First things first, sketch out a Christmas tree on a scrap of paper (not pictured). It will help you draw out the tree on your boards.

Then, decide how big you want to go. I was shooting for something to sit on my mom’s mantle so mine ended up being about 1′ x 4′. No pictures again because it’s not hard to cut some boards and nail them to some two-by-fours. I know y’all can handle it.

Once you’ve got your boards cut and nailed together, draw out your tree. I highly recommend measuring everything out to keep the tree symmetrical.

Next, get out your drill and get to drilling. Follow your lines and just space out holes along them. Don’t go too deep. You just want to give your nails a good start. This also helps prevent splitting the boards if, like me, you prefer using reclaimed, weathered wood.

Next, grab the nails and your hammer and go to town. Don’t worry about keeping things straight or perfect. Mostly, just try to keep the nails the same height. No one will notice if your lines aren’t perfect but a too tall or too short nail will totally stick out.

When you’re done with the nails, you can pause to add your lights if you want. As you can see, my boards are screwed in so I just popped one board loose, slipped the lights through and screwed it back down. This puts the battery pack behind the tree and lets you hide the wires behind the string. You could also drill a hole and thread the lights through. There are tons of different ways to do this. Be creative. Have fun.

Next, grab your string and go crazy. Seriously. There are no rules. Just go from nail to nail with the string. Hit every nail at least once. When you’re done, you’ll have a fun, string art Christmas tree. This is a super quick, easy project. I think I knocked this out in roughly two hours. I would have been less if I hadn’t accidentally cut the two-by-fours on the back too short the first time.

I gave this to my Mom right around the first of December. She loves it.

If you liked this DIY, stay tuned for more. I’ve got lots more projects planned. Like building myself a writing desk. I’m also rehabbing my 1960’s house right now so if you want to help me pick colors and such, follow me on Instagram.

There will also be more writing adventures coming in 2019. I’m working on my fourth book right now and will be taking it to a week long intense writing workshop next year. Which of course means I need to finish it. Yikes!

Hope y’all all have a wonderful, blessed Christmas. Hug your family and treasure them, even if they’re being a pain in the behind.

Blessings,

Elise