Get into the holiday spirit and use your super-crafty abilities with these simple DIY tree ideas that are so easy they are almost like magic! 

For those of us with tree allergies (or just an aversion to pine needles everywhere), the idea of bringing a tree into the home at the holidays can be a nightmare. While the tradition may seem quaint to some, to others the practice is pretty close to torturous, requiring the use of allergy medication and eye drops. That’s not to mention the potential disaster when pets and small children are added into the mix.

And lest you think that getting one of those artificial trees is a good idea, think again. Not only does an artificial tree take the joy out of the season (in my opinion), but most are also made from a smorgasbord of petrochemicals, including polyvinyl chloride (PVC) or polyethylene (PE). Just what you need, a fake tree off-gassing in your home?! Not!

Consider making a DIY tree alternative. And while you are getting crafty, why not make homemade ornaments as well?

Here are some easy DIY tree ideas to give you some inspiration to create your own DIY tree this season.

DIY Tree Ideas

1. Blackboard Tree – One of the simplest ways to be tree-free this year is to go 2D by decorating a blackboard wall with a hand chalked tree.

2. Pallet Tree – Turn a pallet into a kitschy repurposed tree. Simply, cut, paint and arrange the slats in an inverted “V” shape for a reusable tree.

3. Tomato Cage Tree – Another easy DIY tree idea is to wrap tomato cages (used for holding up tomato plants) with strands of lights for some illuminated Christmas spirit.

4. Hanging Branches Wall Hanging – Get super crafty by tying salvaged wood twigs and branches together with twine and to create a wall hanging. Bonus points for making and hanging homemade decorations from your creation.

5. Wrapped Packages – Stack wrapped brown-paper-packages in a tree shape for a super easy and pet-friendly tree alternative this season. This is one tree you might not mind the cats playing on!

6. Plywood Tree – If you have some tools, and some skills to use them, use a saw to cut out a tree shape from a piece of plywood. Leave it bare for rustic charm, or cover it with felt, linen, or some other festive fabric and decorate it with Christmas cards.

7. Cardboard Tree – Use this PDF template to reuse cardboard destined for the recycle bin into a repurposed tree this season. The decorating possibilities are endless.

8. Vintage Cookie Tin Tree – Have a collection of vintage cookie tins? Stack them up from largest to smallest for some vintage Christmas charm.

9. DIY Wall Decal Tree – Turn painters’ tape or electrical tape into a geometric wall decal tree using this simple tutorial. Easy. Peasy. Christmas. Done.

Related on EcoSalon

15 Clever Repurposing Ideas for Christmas Cards and Wrapping Paper
4 Super Easy Modern Christmas Decor Ideas to Deck the Halls
10 Deceptively Simple Ideas for Last Minute Homemade Christmas Cards

Wall Hanging Christmas Tree Image via KucoDesign

The post 9 Super Easy Alternative DIY Tree Ideas for a Tree-Free Holiday appeared first on EcoSalon.

Have you ever wondered how Christmas trees are “born”?

Well, the story is cooler than you may think. Watch the video below to learn just how sexy pine cones can be.

Related on EcoSalon

5 Perfectly Ugly Sweater Holiday Party Ideas

7 Game-Changing DIY Christmas Tree Decorating Ideas

10 Reasons Not to Buy Artificial Christmas Trees

The post This is How Christmas Trees Do It [Video] appeared first on EcoSalon.

The reality of artificial Christmas trees.

Are you or are you not going to have a Christmas tree? That is the question.

And if you are going to have a tree, is it going to be a real one or an artificial one? Welcome to the annual Christmas tree debate, a debate that happens to be a bit more complex than “buy this, not that.”

Each year, Americans buy about 30 million real trees and about 13 million artificial ones. While many people buy artificial trees under the auspice that they are reusable, in a much-cited New York Times article on the subject it was noted that in terms of greenhouse gas emissions, use of resources and human health impacts, an environmental consulting term estimated that an artificial tree would have to be reused for more than 20 years in order for it to be “greener” than buying a fresh-cut one every year.

Here are ten other facts that could sway you away from buying an artificial tree:

1. Your artificial tree has about an 85% chance of being made in China.

2. Most artificial trees are made with polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a non-renewable, petroleum-based plastic, whose production releases carcinogens.

3. The average family uses an artificial tree for six to nine years before it ends up in a landfill.

4. A byproduct of artificial tree factories? Industrial pollution. Byproduct of tree farms? Oxygen and absorption of carbon.

5. In the event of a fire, an artificial tree will release hazardous fumes.

6. The U.S. Christmas live tree industry creates more than 100,000 jobs.

7. An acre of Christmas trees provides the daily oxygen requirements of 18 people.

8. For every real Christmas tree harvested, two to three seedlings are planted in its place the following spring.

9. This is what a Chinese tree factory looks like and this is how trees are made. This is what an American Christmas tree farm looks like and this is how the trees grow.

10. Approximately 20 million plastic trees in U.S. households have a danger of lead exposure due to aging.

Choosing to get a real tree? Just because you’re opting for a real one doesn’t mean it’s inherently sustainable. Choose an organically grown tree and cut your environmental impact down and buy local; driving three hours one way to get a tree from the wintry woods accounts for a lot of carbon emissions. And once Christmas is over? Compost that thing!

Related on EcoSalon:

11 DIY Alternatives to Real Christmas Trees

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree, How Non-Toxic Are Your Branches

Between the Lines: Christmas is the Last Thing I Want For Christmas

Image: Theresa Thompson

The post 10 Reasons Not to Buy Artificial Christmas Trees appeared first on EcoSalon.

A weekly round up of EcoSalon’s top stories.

It’s been a week of mindfulness and bigheartedness here at EcoSalon, as we looked at:

Jonathan Harris and his happiness project, Balloons For Bhutan.

Passports with Purpose, a travel blogging fundraiser aimed at raising $80k to build two libraries for children in Zambia (Newsflash: they’ve done it!).

30 famous quotes to bring you firmly into the present, where you belong.

Seven of the really, really bad kind of do-gooders….

And in preparation for next week’s Xmas-fest, we gave you 11 DIY alternatives to traditional Christmas trees.

The post The Friday 5: Do-Good, Feel-Good Edition appeared first on EcoSalon.

Why fell another conifer when you can deck your halls with an alterna-tree?

It takes on average, about a decade for Christmas trees to reach the ideal height only to be kept on display for a few weeks before being hauled off to the dump. There are artificial trees of course but they lack the smell we crave of sweet pine forests in winter. Fear not, there are still ways to satisfy your real-tree addiction.

First thing to note: not all trees are bad. You can buy, or even rent, a live Christmas tree in a pot, which keeps all year and gives the gift that keeps on giving: oxygen. Or you could try sprucing up a ladder…

Shaping found objects into a hanging perma-tree…

Embroider or tape a tree…

Recycle a tree, quite literally. (This one is made up of 100 recycled bicycle parts.)

Go hiking and drag a branch home with you, or uncoil a wire into the shape of a tree.

You’re better than the real thing. In fact, you’re a trendsetter – run with it.

ALSO CHECK OUT:

5 DIY Alternatives to Holiday Gift Wrap

12 DIY Wall Stencils

12 Free Green DIY Projects

12 DIY Projects for a Green Geek

Images: TW Collins; Inspiration for Home; Jane Shouten; Free People blog; Tilly & Fran; Bloesem; Inspiration Green; Hege Greenall-Scholtz; 

The post 11 DIY Alternatives to Traditional Christmas Trees appeared first on EcoSalon.

Don’t be pining away for the disposable tree when you can conceive a brilliant alternative, like Tara and Thyme’s rendition carved of recycled wood and copper pipe. How lively are their branches! Even the star is close to the spirit of the nativity, made from the siding of an old barn. Other stamps of creativity are the gold leaf garland and laser cut ornaments.

The drying rack may not have that evergreen scent but it is something that endures long after New Year’s day. Just locate that collection of ornaments form the basement and have at it. Yes, this inspiration from Re-Nest grows on you.

Cozy up to felt this year with this soft and clean option from cb2. It’s the Coneheads’ fave.

The Cardboard Christmas Tree is a real seasonal cut-up, destined to have you playing workshop elf for hours, adding your own personal touch to the sustainable alternative. Another paper option is the modern and minimal Pop-Up Tabletop Holiday Tree from the MoMA Store.

Prune a yuletide tune, drying out your winter flowers and shaping like a tree. Follow the steps on Ehow with a hydrangea arrangement. Prop it in your entryway to set the seasonal tone.

The post Trimming an Alternative Tree appeared first on EcoSalon.