Charlie Brown's Christmas Tree

by AZNdude in Living > Christmas

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Charlie Brown's Christmas Tree

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Everyone remembers watching Charlie Brown choose his pitiful tree on that famous Christmas Special, and now you can own make this Christmas icon out of recycled items.
The Charlie Brown Christmas Tree makes a great gift and/or centerpiece and will be sure to radiate Christmas nostalgia wherever it is placed.

What You Need

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What you need:

Scissors and/or x-acto knife
Glue 
Wire Cutter
Brown Paint (I used Raw Sepia Acrylic)
Green Pipe Cleaners
Clothes Hangers
Foam Core Board
Ruler
Paintbrush
Small Christmas Ornament
Masking Tape

Straighten the Wire

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Using the wire cutters straighten out the clothes hanger.
It needn't be too straight  - remember you'll have to bend it into a tree.

Make the Branches

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Next cut off a portion of the hanger into smaller wires and bend all of them into branches.
The biggest piece will be the trunk.
See Picture:

Form the Tree

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Arrange the branches into a tree
Beginning at the base of the tree, begin wrapping the whole tree in masking tape.
Remember to individually wrap the branches, and then attach them to the trunk with tape.
See Picture:

Paint the Tree

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Once the whole tree is covered in masking tape you can begin painting it brown.
I used Raw Sepia Acrylic. 
Note: I mixed the paint with a little water to help it cover all the creases and cracks in the tape.

Making the Base

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You're almost done, but now you need to make a base for the tree.
Using scissors and/or an x-acto knife cut two 3 by 8 inch rectangles out of foam core board.
Then cut out two 3 by 1 inch rectangles out of foam core board.

Adding Feet

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Glue both of the 3 by 1 inch rectangles onto both edges of one of the 3 by 8 inch rectangles.
You should now have two 3 by 8 inch rectangles, one of which has two feet on either side.

Making the Needles

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Now back to the tree:
Take some green pipe cleaners and cut them into roughly 3 inch segments.
Twist these segments around the ends of the branches to make the needles.
The branches need be in bunches of only 2 or 3.

Finishing Up

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Glue the two 3 by 8 inch rectangles together to form a cross.
The one with the feet must go on top.
Punch a hole in the center with the tree and you have the base.
Now stick the bottom of the tree in the hole, adorn with an ornament, and you're done!
Note: I used hot glue to secure the tree in the base.
Enjoy your piece of Christmas nostalgia for years to come!