This project is part of the The Proper Pinwheel’s holiday series, Mission: Merry 2012.

I’m such a fan of projects that don’t cost me a dime. Everyone has cardboard boxes in their home. If you’re like me, you live in “The Land of The Boxes”. These cardboard trees are a fantastic addition to anyone’s holiday decor and it took me maybe 45 minutes to make 5 of them. FIVE, people! It’s like a sweatshop over here…

To make your own cardboard Christmas trees you’ll need:

• cardboard
• X-acto knife
• white acrylic paint
• foam paint brush

Using a pencil, draw out your trees in several different sizes. I didn’t follow a pattern. My trees are not symmetrical. And that’s okay. It’s edgy. You’ll need two flats of a tree to make one actual cardboard tree. Carve them out of the cardboard with the X-acto knife. Take one flat and cut a short thin line in the center from the very top of the tree down to where the first triangle ends. Take the second flat and cut a thin line in the center from the bottom of the tree all the way to where the first triangle begins. It’s like a puzzle. You’ll combine the trees, and what do you know? It’s a 3D tree and it stands on it’s own.

Paint the trees by dipping the foam brush in a little bit of paint and “dabbing” it all over each side of the tree. Let the paint dry. Put the trees back together. Add some peppermints and you’ve got yourself a mini winter wonderland. Congratulations on that. 🙂 Are you loving Mission: Merry 2012 as much as we are? Click here to view all of the other projects!

The Sweet Paul Giveaway ended last night. Were you the winner?!

photo cred: all photos by The Proper Pinwheel