{DIY} Twig Tree with Faux Shiplap Background

Hi! I am at home listening to All Sons and Daughters while my baby naps. The air is warm, the sun is shining, and things are peaceful in our house. Isn’t that such a good feeling? It feels a bit like a Saturday right now… the type of Saturday when you don’t have anything particular to do except for maybe a few loads of laundry and a date with a comfy chair and good book.

What better day then right now to share this little twig tree I put together this week. I wanted something wintery, that could stay up for a good part of the year. I love seasonal decorating, but I am a bit of a lazy decorator in that, I don’t really have time to switch things all the time… Maybe it’s because I have project ADD, 3 kids or a cat that is apparently growling in his nap at the foot of my bed. Anyhoo, enough chatter- I want to show you how this whole thing works so maybe you can try something similar if you feel so inclined.

Supplies

For this project you will need:

some twigs {we collected ours before the snow fell}
A piece of plywood measuring 18″x16″
1″x 1/2″ wood trim
white paint
black paint
hot glue, and a gun
8 finishing nails

I made this tree using scrap wood, so that determined my size. You could go with any size for this project, and simply adjust your materials accordingly.

Step 1

Paint your plywood. I only needed one coat.

Step 2

Once your paint is dry to the touch find the centre of your board {measured vertically}. I split the difference, started my first “plank” in the centre and worked my way down the board marking lines 4″ apart. Once you have found the correct spacing, trace the lines using a pencil and a straight edge. Festive pencils are preferred and recommended.

Step 3

Now you need to find the centre horizontally. Lay out your sticks and snap them to length until you are happy with the shape of your tree. I started at the bottom and worked my way up. It’s important to lay them out before gluing them in place.

Step 4

It’s time to glue! Fire up the glue gun and get busy. I simply lifted, added glue onto the stick and put it back in place.

Step 5

Mark, measure, and cut your trim. { I used scrap pieces, which is the reason for the random below}

Step 6

Paint that trim black. And then wait for your paint to dry which is possibly the most time consuming part of this project.

Step 7

Attach the trim to the plywood. I used 1″ finishing nails. I slightly overhung the trim around the back edge so I could hang it that way, but you can also use a little monster tooth picture hanging hook. {not the official name}

Hang it up and admire your handy work 😉

You can find the gold joy to the world art available as a free printable here. The red to us a child is born print is from She Reads Truth. It came with the beautiful Advent Study I was gifted by a sweet friend. Yay for beautiful, God loving, muck trudging friends.