Recycle Paint Stirs to Make a Rustic Christmas Decoration

I get great satisfaction out of recycling odd items and bits and pieces to create projects. This Christmas decoration in made from paint stir sticks that were left over from a long ago painting project.

Gather these supplies:

• 7 paint stir sticks
• Folk Art Painted Finishes (Moss)
• Paint brush
• Odd bits and pieces for tree decorations
• Hot glue gun and glue
• Proxxon Delta Sander
• Proxxon Scroll Saw

Begin by sanding the surface of the paint stirs to remove any lettering using the Proxxon Delta Sander.

Arrange the paint stirs into a Christmas tree configuration, and mark where to cut them to size. My horizontal pieces measure 9", 8", 7", 6", 5", 4", and 2½". The 4" and 2½" pieces were ut from the same stir. The vertical is a full length paint stir. 

Use the Proxxon Scroll Saw to cut the paint stirs to the appropriate lengths. 

Next, paint the stirs using Folk Art Painted Finishes. These paints create texture and dimension, as well as subtle shading. (Note: To get the brown color for the tree truck, I added brown Folk Art Acrylic Paint to the light moss Painted Finishes paint.

When the pieces were dry, I assembled and hot glued them together, deliberately placing the horizontal pieces askew.

I raided my stash to find baubles left from previous projects that could serve as tree ornaments and decorations, and hot glued these to the tree.

The finished paint stir Christmas tree hangs in my kitchen, adding holiday cheer to my notions wall.

Carole