Diy upcycled christmas trees

DIY project from NZ Gardener magazine

Rose Hughes turns an old pallet into evergreen festive trees.

Upcycled Christmas trees

You will need

Old pallets – choose one with a central strut
Ply offcuts for stars
Hand saw, skill saw, jig saw
Straight edge
Screwdriver and bits
Tape measure and pencil
Wood filler and sandpaper
8g x 50mm screws, 8g x 25 screws
Resene Quick Dry Primer, test pots and brushes
Seed lights and fairy lights (optional)

Instructions

Learn how to make Christmas trees from pallets:

Step 1 Step one
Lay the pallet flat, at the top, one board down from the edge, mark the centre. Mark the width of the tree base on the bottom board. Use the straight edge to mark the cuts.

Step 2 Step two
Cut through each board carefully using the skill saw until you get to the top. Cut through this one only as far as the central strut. Turn the pallet and use the hand saw to cut the board though to the strut. Remove the uncut top board.

Step 3 Step three
Cut two 250mm pieces from one of the discarded pallet boards. Screw to each side of the central strut at the base of the tree. Cut one length at 400mm, halve lengthwise and screw to each side of the base to make a stand.

Step 4 Step four
Download and print a star template. Mark the star onto the ply and cut out using the jigsaw. Sand well. Undercoat with Resene Quick Dry Primer and top coat. I used Resene Pohutukawa.

Step 5 Step five
Paint the tree. I used Resene Waterborne Woodsman stain in Evergreen and Japanese Maple. Screw the star into position at the top of the tree. Fill the screw hole, sand when dry and re-topcoat.

Diy upcycled christmas trees

You will need

Instructions

Resene Paints (Australia) Limited – www.resene.com