Looking for unique, creative wood slice project for the holidays? Here’s an easy Christmas project you can finish in under 10 minutes.
Wood slice project: DIY Christmas tree
(otherwise known as the easy, simple tutorial you’ve been waiting all season for)
Step 1: Visit a Christmas tree farm to cut down your tree
Spend an hour trying to find the perfect tree.
Not too tall. Not too wide. Not too Charlie Brown.
Find the tree.
Celebrate by drinking free cider from the gift shop.
Sip cider and wonder why all the elves are wearing stirrup pants.
Step 2: Listen to your mother when she calls you over to the burn pile
And points.
Watch as she points to all those wonderful wood slices and asks if you can think of a project for them.
Stare at the wood pieces for five minutes.
Watch your mother watching you think.
Decide they need to be a wood slice project—a DIY Christmas tree.
Put down your free cider and sort through the burn pile to find the perfect wood slices for free.
Remember how much you love free.
Step 3: Clean off the wood pieces
Brush off all dirt and random bits of pine from the pieces of wood for your wood slice project.
Brush again.
Brush some more.
Realize they are never going to be perfectly clean.
Sigh.
Then remember how much you love the rustic look.
Proceed.
Step 4: Find a vintage chalkboard at a junk store
Sand it a little more.
Add some stain.
Wonder why the stain is going on in clumps.
Shrug your shoulders and hope that everyone visiting your home just thinks it came that way.
Step 5: Lay your wood slices out in a tree pattern (aka a triangle)
Lay out the wood slices in a tree pattern.
Think to yourself that you should have done this at the burn pile.
Cross your fingers and hope that you have enough wood slices to make a tree.
Tell yourself how amazing you are when it works out perfectly.
Step 6: Apply the wood slices
Come up with the brilliant idea of attaching them with adhesive tape.
Add a piece to each wood slice and stick to the chalkboard.
Stand back and admire your finished wood slice project.
Place it on your kitchen counter.
Turn away and start washing the dishes.
Listen as the wood slices fall off the chalkboard one by one.
Step 7: Hot glue the wood pieces
Go old school.
Hot glue each of the pieces of wood to the chalkboard in your tree pattern.
Wonder why you ever try to be fancy.
Step 8: Draw a star on the top
Search around for some chalk in the junk drawer.
Finish your tree with a chalk star on the top and a hand-drawn trunk on the bottom.
Step 9: Add some reindeer and call it a day
Place your finished wood slice chalkboard tree on your counter.
Think of that cider on the Christmas tree farm.
Think of the wood slices just randomly waiting for you in the burn pile.
Think of your mother.
Decide she’s amazing….
….and you’re a chip off the old block. 🙂
PS If you don’t have a wood slice pile close by, you can order wood slices from here.
disclosure: affiliate links are used in this post.
Hello Friend ! Yes. Indeed. You ARE a chip off the ol' (wood) block. Love the wood slice tree -- and your one-in-a-million writing style. You are truly a rockstar. Always. Blessings, Michael
Love. Just love.
Thinking we need a glimpse into your Mother's fabulouse home (just guessing). After all, she started this awesomeness ! Lol! Love your blog!
Looks fantastic! The rustic vibe with the black, white and brown tones ooze warmth. Glad to be a part of the Christmas Junkers United campaign this year with y'all! #christmasjunkersunited
love it - but as usual, the story is almost better than the project! Love you friend!
I love it Karianne! So cute and creative!
Love! Love! Love! Perfect for my front porch chalkboard, here in the Colorado mountains. Except my board is a permanent feature on the porch and deco changes with the seasons. Solution: Break out glue gun, drink coffee and think for 5 min, fret about not wanting to damage surface but knowing tape will not work (see your notes), remember that I primed chalkboard (ages ago) with magnetic primer, glue on magnet buttons. Stand back and admire, get more coffee cuz it's freezing out here!!!
You made me laugh right out loud when the slices fell off one by one!! That sounds like something that would happen to me! I love that your Mom was with you at the tree farm almost as much as the fact that she pointed out the free slices! She sounds amazing!!! By the way, LOVE the tree!!!
Tee hee...good end to a great project!
This may be the perfect decoration that I need for my son and daughter in laws house,,,,,they asked me to help get the place all festive, but not too Christmasy!! They love clean, modern lines, no clutter, and we have had fun helping them reno their house. So, I suggested a Scandinavian type style Christmas....thanks for the inspiration. I will now send this off to the hubby, who makes all things possible!! Your chalkboard "count down" to Christmas inspiration turned out great for me, so, here we go again. Thanks to Thistlewood Farms!!
December 2nd and I'm starting to get that feeling of the holidays completely overwhelming me, until Dear KariAnne goes on about elves wearing stirrup pants! Bravo ! What a great visual ! You made me laugh as always, and made my day, thank you ! You go girl!!!!
Thank you for giving me a chuckle. I'm on bed rest from bronchitis and pharyngitis. I needed this. If you ever put your anecdotes in a book form, I will read it over and over!
It's absolutely gorgeous, I love it!
YOU. ARE. HILARIOUS. Yes! And creative, and amazing and your blog a great way to start the day. I so wish I could be a creative thinker.....but I am thankful YOU are! :)
KariAnne ~ I've only been reading your blog for a few short months and have decided that you are simply adorable!
I love it - simple and perfect. Absolutely fantastic. Merry Christmas! -b.
BRILLIANT as always !! Since I just got my Christmas present early this year -- a nice chop saw I'll be giving that a try for sure !! It occurred to me that if you made that on a little bigger scale it could be a "count down to Christmas" calendar. You might even add some brass numbers to the slices of wood !! My daughter-in-law and I are so excited about this chop saw because we're both going to be using it like crazy to do crafts and home improvements !! I'd rather have a gift that I could use than anything fancy!!! Have a blessed day !!!
How about the acorn doesn't fall too far from the oak?? Or . . . . I'd better quite while I'm ahead. I love your tenacity and persistence! You don't give up and that's the way it should be. You see, I feel I am a tenacious person or you could say determined. There are those who are really jealous of my good qualities and call be stubborn as a mule. Oh well, what do they know??? I love your tree!!!
Perfectly rustic! I love wood slices and have been having fun with them this year!
I LOVE your tree...and your commentary always makes me smile :)
Super-cute!! And why did I have a feeling that hot glue would end up being the adhesive-of-choice? :) Happy Tuesday!
Oh my gosh, Karianne, you are so cute and funny. Thanks for the Tuesday morning smile.
Very cute! I also love those reindeer!! Did you make those?
KariAnne you made me LOL! I love reading your blog, even if I don't want to make a scrap wood tree! Thanks for the chuckles and giggles, have a great day!
What tree? I'm cracking up at the stirrup pants! Leave it to you to create an amazing project fresh from the Christmas tree farm! Really love this! I'd go there just for wood slices... thanks for the advice!
Nice job KariAnne... I love your tree (the reindeer are very cool too) Susan
I love this. And I love the chalkboard. AND I love your story writing. It's always been my favorite thing to hear about the journey through the project. Thanks for sharing!
Karianne, I am fairly new to your blog. You just make me giggle. I love your style and your projects.
Karianne, You rocked it out with this one. How creative and fun. Love it. Kris
Nothing wrong with being a chip off the old block, as long as it is a good old block and not rotten one..................
You are a girl after my own heart! I love finding new ways to reuse junk...and often have to invent solutions when plans go awry! I cannot WAIT to meet you tomorrow at the Home Tour and High Tea! I'm sure your tree is going to be fabulous!
I love it but I want to steal those reindeer! Where or where did you find them??? LOVE.
I wanna be you when I grow up. Your stories crack me UP! Step 6 had me rolling. Love this and love you! Happy Christmas, sweet friend!
KariAnne, love the your tree project. Your project directions are absolutely hilarious. Thanks for making me smile!!
Hi KariAnne! I have read and loved your blog for over a year and never commented until now. Something about the wood blocks falling off on the counter had me laughing and relating! (Most recently all my Christmas stockings took a dive off the mantle...the no nail adhesive hooks just aren't cutting it!) thank you for your wonderful posts and sharing your life in stories and beauty with the world!
Karianne, Now that's a cute tree! Only you! Christine
Karianne, this wood slice tree is super fun! I love how it pops on the black!
You are a genius! I love your wood slice Christmas tree!!!
Well I'm a sap for anyone who's a chip off the old block. And I pinned it. So simple, so cute, and to think last weekend I didn't even have any of the free cider.
Super cute idea! The narrative of this post made me laugh really hard...especially the part where the wood pieces fall of as you're doing the dishes.
I literally LOL'd multiple times at this post. Not only was it a very cute, creative project but the comical step by step, trial by error way that you described it was very refreshing! Love it! ~ White & Wood
Attach cup hooks to some or all of the wood slices and hang either mini ornaments or use eye hooks and old dangling earrings.
love the tree!! But I love love love, the reindeers! Did you make them?