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A Plentiful Life

DIY

Christmas Tree Basket: An Easy 5 Minute DIY

December 5, 2018

 

DIY Christmas Tree BasketFour years ago we bought a $50 dollar tree at Canadian Tire, similar to this tree. It was our first Christmas together and Mark took me on a date night to Canadian Tire to purchase a tree and all the ornaments.  Before Mark I lived on my own for a VERY long time. I never had a tree. I’d usually buy one of those little shrubs from the grocery store to put on my kitchen table. Obviously we wanted to buy something on a budget and ended up finding this great tree for only $50. The best part about the tree is that although it has the fake branches, on the end of every section it has some branches that look real. This is the key to purchasing a fake tree. Getting one that has branches that look authentic.

Christmas Tree Base BeforeSince moving into our new home I have tried to get some height on the tree by using a small vintage stool and an old crock I had on hand. I liked the look of this but wanted something a little cleaner. I saw a large basket at my local Salvation Army Thrift Store and thought it would look great at the base of the tree. The basket would leave space for presents, while still giving the tree height. How to accomplish this? The base of the tree wouldn’t fit into the basket. I thought of a few ways to prop it up, none of them would have been good for the weight of the tree. Finally I thought of using a wood stump (we have some for our fireplace). This would give the basket weight, so it wouldn’t tip over. Mark helped me figure out the best tool for the job. All we needed was a spade bit. This would cut a hole in the piece of wood so the tree would easily stand up. What? So easy!

Simple vintage basket DIY.

The basket I bought from the Salvation Army Thrift Store was a great size but I didn’t like the colour. I wanted it to look a little more vintage and not blend in with the floor. I had some walnut stain leftover from our DIY Growler Wall and thought I would try to stain the basket.

DIY Basket Materials, stain, gloves, rag and basketGet your materialS

Basket, gloves, stain (whatever colour works for you), plastic drop cloth and an old rag.

Using walnut stain to stain a thrifted basket for a Christmas Tree baseStart staining

Simply dip your rag into the stain and brush it onto the basket. I did not let the stain sit at all and wiped off the excess immediately. If you want a darker basket, let the stain set for a little longer then wipe off the excess stain.

Staining the DIY Christmas tree basketlet stain dry

Depending on the weather this may take an afternoon or a day.

DIY Christmas Tree BasketWood round

Find a piece of wood that will fit nicely into your basket and then used the spade bit to drill a hole, it is that easy! I don’t have a photo of us drilling the hole because these short winter days are really horrible!

Easy DIY Christmas Tree BasketDIY Christmas tree basket cost

Basket: $3.99 (Salvation Army Thrift Store), Spade Bit: $8.49 (Rona), Stain: No Cost as I used what I had on hand, I’ve had this little can of Minwax Walnut for probably 4 projects! It goes a long way (Rona), Wood Round: Free

**Note: Items like the gloves and rags I buy in bulk so don’t include those in my total. If you are thinking of doing more DIY’s these are great investments to make!

TOTAL COST: $12.48

Easy and affordable DIY Christmas tree standFor less than $12.50 I was able to create a new stand for our Christmas tree. The best part is we can also store more of our holiday items in the basket when the season is over. Multi-functional! Compare to this basket which is almost $200. I am sure there are more affordable baskets but all of the popular ones I saw were at least $100. Use that money for some Christmas cheer and DIY an easy Christmas tree base.

Easy diy christmas tree basket base

affordable christmas tree base Chirstmas tree basket Christmas diy diy christmas diy christmas tree DIY Holidays diy tree Easy DIY Holiday DIY

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Tijana Popovc

A frugalista who hunts for great deals, try's her best to budget and navigates life as honestly as she can. I love thrift shopping, do it yourself projects, exploring the trails by our house, all the flowers, and spending time with the love of my life Mark.
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03.10.18 5 Years. 1. Our wedding dance. A random 03.10.18

5 Years.

1. Our wedding dance. A random, simple picture I saw on my computer. I feel like it could be a regular Tuesday night in the kitchen with Mark saying something funny and me laughing. Add in two toddlers, probably screaming for a group cuddle, just out of frame.

2. Second Date, 9 years ago.

3. DIY photobooth photos. I love these photos. We look at them every year. I always roll my eyes where I can see the night takes a turn and the backdrop is halfway ripped down, but it cost $40, sooooo...worth it. 

4. Evie, Poppy, and Mama. The photobooth was supposed to be an early surprise for our anniversary as the 5th year is wood. It's an old-school wooden photobooth that happens to be set up in North Van right now, but Mark got really sick. Instead, we did a girl date, had croissants, bubbly water, photobooth photos, and a craft session. 
 
I'm posting this early because I'm signing off social media for a bit. Life with two 3 year olds is full and takes a lot of energy. Marks business is thriving, and I need to be able to support in any way I can. Plus, if I have an extra 10 minutes, I probably should be doing some self care, not scrolling on my phone. 

✌️
Have you ever been shopping at your local Salvatio Have you ever been shopping at your local Salvation Army thrift store and looked up? There is so much to discover in the aisles above the racks. Everything you need for a fun and connected long weekend with the family. 

Games, puzzles, colouring, and more! I was excited to find a floor puzzle and a few games for our younger kids. All 3 games and the puzzle only cost $12! A great investment and definitely something that will get good use in our house for many years. 

Any plans for the long weekend? Going out of town or staying home, I would definitely suggest a quick stop at your local Salvation Army thrift store to discover all of the wonderful items to keep your family entertained all weekend long.

#aplentifullifethrifted #thriftstorefinds #thrifted #salvationarmythriftstore #thriftedgames #thriftedpuzzles #thriftkids #thriftkiddies
Last one, I swear! 🤭 Swipe to see the inside o Last one, I swear! 🤭

Swipe to see the inside of the rainbow cupcakes. Honestly, so easy, and they look great! Next time, I might reverse it and make rainbow icing and plain cupcakes, a bigger wow factor. BUT three year olds LOVE sprinkles, so this worked.

🌈✨️🧁
THREE! 🦄 🎉 🌈 I had a lot of fun with thi THREE! 🦄 🎉 🌈

I had a lot of fun with this one! Do you think I accomplished this on a budget? You bet I did! The only thing about being on a budget is that it can be a bit more labour intensive. 

I used cookie cutters again, which makes for easy prep. I cut out all of the sandwich pieces in advance and froze the rice krispies oncee they were made. The rainbow cupcakes I baked in advance and froze, so it was easy to take them out and ice the day of the party.

As for the decor, from the dollar store: 3 bags of balloons, 10 streamer rolls, and 2 unicorn felt banners. Plus leftover string, tape and a Happy Birthday kit, which included the foil balloons and rainbow balloons. Total: $32.50

Now that might not be the cheapest decor but when balloon garlands sell for hundreds of dollars, I think that's a pretty good budget
Yup, I'm that mom. 🫣😂 My kids will be embar Yup, I'm that mom. 🫣😂

My kids will be embarrassed by my enthusiasm one day, but until then, I'm bringing it full force. A few friends sent me photos, and I looked like this in most of them.
TWO! I thought we'd have a big party to FINALLY ce TWO! I thought we'd have a big party to FINALLY celebrate our girls last year but then another lockdown. We had a few family members, and it was nice, but I still went all out! 

Super affordable decor: cookie cutters, $1.99 plants, and butterflies (I think this was a set of 50 for not that much). I also bought secondhand butterfly wings for the kids to wear. 

The cookie cutter adds a level of fun to the food and a bit of themed decor to the table. Butterflies were easy to add throughout our house. Plants ended up outside on our front stoop afterward. 

PS I won the balloon garland! That would be a big party splurge.
The kids have taken over the bath! I wanted to fin The kids have taken over the bath! I wanted to find a nice storage solution for my bath essentials that didn't take up a lot of room. To find what I needed, I headed to the kitchen section of my local Salvation Army thrift store. You might not think the kitchen area is where you'd find bath supplies, but I was looking for something different.

I was so happy to find this heavy cheese plate with dome. It would keep all my bath supplies safe from small children. Then I fell in love with this terracotta pot for my Epsom salts, along with a porcelain spoon, simple candle, and small glass vessel for the matches.

The matches I found at the dollar store, they were long bbq matches, so I cut them to size and taped the striker onto the bottom. I love how it turned out, and I was able to use this secondhand glass jar in a new way!

Don't worry, the kids' toys are still there, I thrifted a small little basket to keep everything contained and in ONE corner.

#aplentifullifethrifted #thriftstorefinds #thrifted #thriftedbath #relaxingbath #momtime #selfcare #budgethome #affordabledecor
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