Our Home Spun Christmas, Part 1. Tomato Cage Christmas Trees

      This Christmas, I am trying to do everything as home made as possible.    This will not only save us money, but it will help the whole family get more involved in the Christmas planning, decorating, and the overall Christmas spirit.

      My first project is to set up our out door decor while it is still relatively nice outside.  When doing some yard clean-up, it occurred to me that these wonderful tomato cages were just taking up valuable real-estate in my garage storage area.  Boy, they taper to the top which reminds me of a Christmas tree.  What better use could there be for unused tomato cages and extra Christmas lights that you no longer use?

      I cleaned the cages up a bit, straightened out the legs that you push into the ground, and got out the duct tape to make the point out of the three legs.

     Next, I rummaged through my boxes and boxes of Christmas items.  Turns out I had 3 of these great lighted garlands that I haven't used in years.  What a wonderful discovery!  I am going to make a whole collection of these trees with all of my extra Christmas lights.  I'm going to point out here, that it would be wise to test your lights before starting this project as it would be an unwise time investment if you are using broken lights.

     Once the tips are taped to put the cage into a triangular tree form, it's time to start wrapping the lights around the cage.  I started at the top and just kept wrapping the garland around until I ran out of garland.

     If you are using a garland like this, some of the lights will point the wrong way and will need to be adjusted so they are aimed to the exterior of the tree.  If they are near the metal frame, you may tie them in place using twine or something similar.  Otherwise, you make need to use the branches creatively.

     Once the frame is covered, it is time to fill in the holes and make it look pretty.  My garland was pretty flat from being in storage and needed a lot of fluffing and primping.  To better cover the frame I also tied one row of branches to the others.  This isn't neccessary and you can do it in whichever way pleases your eye.  Happy decorating!

Thank you for stopping by to chat with me. Please leave me a message, I'd love to hear your thoughts! Cindy