Charlie Brown's Christmas Tree

Charlie Brown's tree may have been mocked by his friends at first, but you'll find it will make a perfectly charming decoration for your own home. And being fake, it will last year after year, and no needles to clean up.

Materials

• small dowel rod
• small wood plank (I got one that was 3"x24")
• strong wire (I used an old coat hanger)
• piece of garland (I got some from the Christmas craft section at Jo-Ann's:

  http://www.joann.com/28-white-snow-on-pinecone-green-spray-/13523139.html

  )
• brown floral tape
• red ornament
• finishing nail
• hot glue
• duct tape

Tools

• wire cutters
• pliers
• hot glue gun
• saw
• scissors
• hammer

I found a garland piece that already came on a strong wire. But I felt it the branches were a little too full, so I trimmed some of the needles down, and cut off some other pieces. I then glued and taped them to other pieces of the wire and attached them to the main piece. Just work with it until you get a shape that you like. Look up images of Charlie Brown's tree and use those as a reference.

Cut the plank in half, and from each half, cut off an inch. Attach the two small inch pieces to the bottom of one of the planks. Then glue this plank on top of the other in a cross. Once they have dried, put the nail into the middle (coming in from the bottom) and use it to attach a piece of the dowel (about 6" long). I was a little crooked with the nail, but a small strip of duct tape covered that nicely.

With glue and tape, attach the tree to the base. Once that is secure, I used more hot glue to add thickness to some of the wire, and well as even out the shape of the tree. I then covered the branches and trunk with duct tape to make sure that everything looked nice and even. Keep adding glue and tape until you achieve the look that you want.

The last step is to cover the branches and trunk with brown floral tape. This will give it a nice wooden look. Make sure you pull the tape tight so that it will hold properly. Finally, add your ornament, and your tree is complete. If you'd like to, feel free to wrap it in a small light blue cloth like Linus' blanket.

Merry Christmas!