Alternative Christmas Tree Ideas
This year there are plenty of ideas for alternative Christmas trees that look just as gorgeous - and they take up less space and are safer.
marthastewart.com
Not everyone wants to put up a traditional Christmas tree with all the trimmings, especially if you have a home full of children and pets, or if you place doesn't have enough space to swing a cat! This year there are plenty of ideas for alternative Christmas trees that look just as gorgeous - and they take up less space and are safer.
This PVC pipe Christmas tree is gorgeous, and if I hadn't already put up the tree and overloaded it with trimmings, I would definitely do this as an alternative. You pay between R50 (50mm diameter) to R100 (110mm diameter) for PVC pipe, and you can easily make the entire tree shown above with a single small and large pipe. Have a piece of birch or pine plywood cut to size for the backing and use 5-minute epoxy glue to attach the pipe to the board. Fill up with shimmering ornaments and sparkly decorations - and voila!
This PVC pipe wreath is definitely something to catch attention. If you've got some time on your hands over the December holidays, grab your tools and have some fun!
1. The easiest way to cut all the PVC pipe to size is with a mitre saw. They don't need to be as deep as the ones shown here - about 6cm is deep enough to display even large baubles.
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2. After cutting, arrange them around an item +/- 15cm in diameter. Arrange your design but allow large pipes where the chain will be mounted - at approx 10 & 2 o'clock.
3. Use a pencil to mark the locations where each piece comes in contact with another piece, so that you can apply Tangit PVC weld glue to glue each piece in place.
4. Use the two drawer knobs to attach the two ends of a piece of chain to the wreath to hang.
5. Take the project outdoors, or in a ventilated space and spray with Rust-Oleum Universal spray paint in Pure Gold. Apply a light first coat and let this dry before spraying on a second coat.
6. Hang the wreath on a door or wall where you would like to add a festive touch.