This post may contain affiliate links. Read our disclosure here.
I love heading to Lowe’s or Home Depot and hitting their bin of extra tree clippings! Most have them right outside their tree areas and you are welcome to “dive” in and take what you would like!
We use their extra tree clippings to decorate with around the house and make everything smell like Christmas. Have any of you tried using those clippings to make your own garland, wreath or centerpiece rather than buying it? It’s super easy and the best part… It’s FREE!
What you’ll need:
-Green Floral Wire
-Stem Cutting Scissors (or pruning shears)
-Wire Cutters
-Lots of (FREE) Tree Clippings
-Floral Foam block if you are making a centerpiece
–Wreath Wire Frame if you are making a wreath
-Let the kids gather pine cones from the yard and attach those too.
Christmas Garland
The project should take you about an hour total for the length of a fireplace and the whole process is pretty self explanatory.
- Clip off the long stems from the tree clipping.
- Wire the top of one end to the bottom of the other. Try twisting the wire like you would a bag of bread for extra hold.
- Overlap with the next piece to cover up the bottom of the first piece too.
Tip: To make the garland look more full, double it up! Once you’ve made the length of the garland that you want, begin attaching stems to the back of the garland for a richer look.
Christmas Wreath
Grab a wire wreath frame from Michaels and the other items needed above. This will take a lot less greenery than the garland did, so depending on what you grabbed you can make both!
- Clip the greenery into similar sizes. I also love to grab different types of greenery to put together.
- Take three pieces and bunch together with stems together at the bottom.
- Wrap the stems to the wreath form with floral wire.
- Overlap the ends of the first bunch with the next bunch of greenery, and keep working around. Don’t worry in the beginning it won’t look very wreath like, but at the halfway mark you’ll see it come together!
Christmas Centerpiece
This can feel the most overwhelming if you are brand new to being your own florist. Start small and keep it very simple, it will look great I promise!
- Soak floral foam in water for 30 minutes.
- Place foam on a plate, plater or bowl you plan to make the holder of your centerpiece.
- If you are putting a candle in the middle, go ahead and put that on first.
- Trim greenery and start with bigger pieces first towards the bottom. As you add one to the right, do something similar to the left.
- Fill in holes with smaller pieces of greenery, add a bow or other embellishments (my girls found fake berries somewhere to add).
