How To: DIY Vintage Crate Inspired Tree Collar

DIY Vintage Crate Inspired Tree Collar

Hi friend! Today I am excited to share with you how you can create your own DIY vintage crate inspired tree collar! I wanted to change up my own tree collar this year and figured I would take you along as I created this one. Hopefully it inspires you too!

I have been using a galvanized tree collar for a few years but decided that it was time to switch it up. I did not want to spend a lot of extra money on this either and to be honest, most of the stores around me are bare of Christmas decor. It’s wild!

We had tons of leftover wood from various projects in the garage so I enlisted my hubby to help bring this idea to life. I was able to create this without spending more than $10!! I had all the wood on hand and just purchased the SVG file to cut out on my Silhouette machine and then some snow fluff to fill the box in.

Step 1: The Box

We ripped our MDF down to 11″ using the table saw which is the height I wanted the box. Then we cross cut the pieces to length. I wanted the box to be 20×20″ so we cut 2 pieces to 20″ and the other 2 to 19″.

Once the wood was cut, we used wood glue and brad nails to assemble it.

We let that sit overnight and the next day we added the wood trim along the top and bottom.

We cut down 1×2 boards and attached those using wood glue and nails as well. Y’all, I’m not kidding when I say this is such an easy DIY!

After nailing all of the trim pieces on we caulked the seams just to keep everything nice and smooth. I wasn’t worried about filling any of the nail holes since I wanted it to still have a vintage feel to it.

The next day I used some leftover black chalk paint I have had in my stash for years and gave the tree collar 2 good coats of paint. I let it dry outside in the sun. You could do any color combo you like!

Step 2: The Stencil

While the paint was drying, I headed inside to sit down at my computer and search Etsy for the perfect stencil to paint on my tree collar. There are SO many good designs on there!! I chose THIS one.

I have a Silhouette machine so all I had to do was purchase the SVG file and upload it to the application and set up my machine to cut it out. This machine and I are not fond of each other, though. I always seem to mess it up which I did when I was weeding the design out, but that’s a story for another day.

After the design was weeded out as best as I could do, I added the transfer paper to the front and folded the design in half and marked halfway on the tree collar so I could easily line it up. I am okay with things not being perfect. They probably weren’t back in the day!

After I marked center, I stuck my vinyl stencil on the tree collar and got to work painting! I used my absolute favorite creamy white paint, Fusion Mineral Paint in the color ‘Raw Silk’. I have painted countless things with it and I wish I had someone local to me who carried it in their shop! If you ever see it – you have to try it!!

I like to peel my vinyl off right after painting. For me, it’s just personal preference!

I had a few oops with the paint, so I just went back in with my black paint and touched up a few spots.

After the stencil was done it was time to get the tree in the collar! The best part!

As you can see, you could see the inside of the collar which is an easy fix. If you have any blankets you’re not using you could put them in there to fill it up or even use some extra fabric you have that matches your tree. I opted for the snow fluff from Hobby Lobby because it’s easily pliable and it would create that fullness I was looking for!

Step 3: Decorate!

Finally, the tree collar is on, now to fluff your tree and get to decorating!

I hope you enjoyed this little tutorial and feel inspired to make something out of things you already have around your home! Never underestimate the value of some scrap wood. With a little imagination – you can create anything!