DIY: Tomato Cage Christmas Trees

Hello Readers…

We hope that your Thanksgiving was as memorable and enjoyable as ours was.  Time spent around family while enjoying some deliciously prepared food is always good.  But, with Thanksgiving gone, it’s time to prepare for Christmas.  If you thought Halloween was a big production in the Cunningham household, wait until you see what Christmas is like in our home!

This year is our son’s turn to pick the colors of the decorations of the Christmas tree and he did so, almost a month ago: Green, Red & Gold.  I love the idea of letting the kids pick the colors of the decorations, it allows them to be as involved in the process and it builds their confidence in the “decision making” process as well.   

If you follow our Facebook Fan Page, than you already know that I started my DIY Christmas decorations as far back as Halloween.  My good friend, Kara, is obsessed with Pinterest, and thanks to her, I have now joined that club! I know, the HORROR right!!! J

Kara found several projects but I fell in love with the idea of making my own Christmas Tree to decorate my entryway.  I have always wanted one (or two) but every time I saw the tag price of $79+, my wants became “no wants”… J  I’m sure you can relate to the whole “for how much?? 

Nope, it can stay right where it is!”

This can be used for indoors or outdoors and you will not believe how inexpensive and how easy are to make. 

Materials needed:

Wire Round Tomato Cage…………...…… $2.58 Lowe’s;

Zip Tie…………………………………………….. FREE- courtesy of Husband’s tool box;

Gold Star……………………………………….... $1.00- Dollar Tree Store

17 Garland…………………………………...…. $17.00- Dollar Tree Store

White Lights………………………………....… FREE- I used some of the lights I already owned

    TOTAL SPENT:                               $20.58

My entry way is not as large and open, so I only made one.  I simply decorated my tree using gold/ivory ribbon that I purchased at the Dollar General Store are well, increasing my total spent to $23.58.  Not bad at all if you compare it to the high prices you see at the store.

I used the 42” Galvanized Steel Wire Round Tomato Cage:  

This cage is not the tallest Lowe’s carries, there are several sizes you can choose from (33” to 54”).  If you cannot find the sizes you need to decorate your porch, you may want to consider placing the tomato cage on top of some nice heavy pots/planters.  Pots not heavy enough? No biggie, simply add dirt, sand or even rocks to make the pots/planters heavier.  You can make your pots/planters unique by adding a nice decorative ribbon around it.   Your options are limitless.

HELPFUL NOTE:  If you are using pots/planters follow these steps first:

1.       Make sure you add the dirt/sand/rocks first

2.      Place the tomato cage on top;

3.      If the tomato cage is too wide for your pot, you can cut the bottom wire and squeeze the cage into your pot.

STEP 1

Bringing the ends together and secure them by using the Zip Tie. Make sure it is as tight as possible. 

STEP 2:

Carefully unfold the garland;

Note: Amount of garland needed depends on the size of your tomato cage.  I compared the garland from the different Family Dollar, Dollar General and Dollar Tree Stores.  To my surprise, the best garland I found was at the Dollar Tree Store!  It’s was undeniably firmer than the rest, which will give you the necessary steadiness and fullness you are looking for.  

Start wrapping the garland around the cage;

HELPFUL NOTE:  It is easier to start from BOTTOM TO TOP, although I started from the TOP, let me explain why this was a problem for me:

1.       Every time I wrapped the top kept coming lose;

2.      I tried placing the star on the top hoping it would keep the garland in place but it simply refused to stay in place.

3.      I tried wrapping the garland around a bit tighter, but it kept coming lose at the top.  So I had to start over many, many times…

      Therefore, I highly suggest you start at the bottom, trust me, I’m saving you time but most importantly YOUR SANITY! J

Continue to wrap, wrap and continue to wrap the garland until the entire cage is fully covered.

STEP 3:

Carefully add the lights;

I used two sets of white lights, each set contained approximately 30 lights.

AND HERE IT IS!

Pretty neat!! 

Overall this was a very easy project and can't forget the amount of money I saved!!  

Thanks for ready and stay tuned for the next project!!!