It started as a scribble ....
... well really I guess it really started when I looked out of the window and saw this absolute decimation of one of my favourite views from the kitchen window.
When Alan prunes, he prunes with gay abandon and nothing is safe, so down came most of the little tree and bushes that made my little shed look like a fairy tale shed nestled in the wood. Now it's exposed I'm sad, it looks bare and un-protected .... it will grow back he said ... it was already perfect I thought ... you bloody vandal !!
Anyway I digress ... in a determined effort to make good a bad job, the smaller branches have been cut up as kindling and some of the bigger branches have been put to a very good use.
A free and totally homegrown Christmas Tree.
I left them to dry off a bit on the Aga so they wouldn't leave damp marks on the wall and while they warmed up I found some green string (thanks Dad your string stash is still coming in handy), pulled out the one box of Christmas decorations that survived our big decluttering session over the Summer. We had chosen to keep only the most favourite of Christmas bits and pieces, the things that meant something to us and that we will be happy to see year after year. I had enough for a quick tinsel strewing of the living room .... and to decorate the pile of twigs ...
... that were about to be turned into a Christmas Tree.
It didn't look much at first, twigs and string hanging from a single screw in the wall that usually holds my 'cottage fireside' picture.
But the fairy lights glammed it up, as only fairy lights can.
And with the addition of a bit of tinsel, some of our most treasured Christmas bits and pieces picked up over the thirteen years that we've been together, and a wrapping paper covered flowerpot filled with Christmas crackers ...
... it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas :-)
Sue xx
What a wonderful idea. It's turned out beautifully. I made a small one a couple of years ago which I still have and it rolls up easily for storage. It's a great addition to the dining room and adds a bit of extra sparkle where there is no room for a tree. X
ReplyDeleteWhat a transformation. At least all ended well!
ReplyDeleteHmmmm I know someone else who prunes like that " There were brambles" he said "so I had to cut the whole lot down to get them out".
ReplyDeleteBut what a brilliant tree you have made - so clever, wouldn't have thought of that in 100 years!
What a clever idea Sue - there is a marketing idea there.
ReplyDeleteClever Sue-it's lovely. And the good thing is nothing was spent and it can be kept for another project. Catriona
ReplyDeleteThis looks lovely. I saw something the other day in a shop and thought 'I can make one of those' although haven't yet, so good to see someone has made one of their own and so beautifully decorated as well.
ReplyDeleteI admit to getting carried away when I prune (my husband says 'It's more like butchering"), but things do grow back. If they don't, I just figure they were on their last legs anyway........
ReplyDeleteLove the tree!
Your tree looks good, I could do with something like that as we don't have much room in this bungalow for our Christmas tree.
ReplyDeleteMy husband does the same with hedges as well as trees. The hedges become short and oblong, like a wall. I prefer a much natural look with just a gentle trim.
Joan (Devon)
What a brilliant idea Sue, it looks really good. x
ReplyDeleteLove it!
ReplyDeleteI saw a tree like this a couple of years ago on 'Life at Number 38'blog and thought it was really nice. Yours looks so pretty and love the pot with crackers.
ReplyDeleteLove your tree. Merry Christmas.
ReplyDeleteYou've done an excellent job on your tree! Looks very Christmassy without the mess of needles and in a small space. I prune like your husband does. I don't start out with that intention, but usually there are bare spots inside the outer foliage that mean you just have to go back further or it looks too straggly! Just wait until spring - it will look fine when the new growth comes on. Or so I tell myself in that situation :)
ReplyDeleteThat's really lovely!
ReplyDeleteJ x
What a great idea, especially if you're pushed for space. The addition of a bucket of crackers is a great finishing touch.
ReplyDeleteVery creative!
ReplyDeleteVery cunning and very clever.
ReplyDeleteToday we made four christmas trees at work out of cardboard - staff will stick baubles with their best wishes on them, to our cardboard trees.
I liked it on Facebook , but if you can't get a pug butt I'll send u mine x
ReplyDeleteCute!!
ReplyDeleteGod bless.
How cute is that. Merry Christmas to you both :)
ReplyDeleteYour tree is amazing! I love it and wouldn't have thought of how to make it in a million years :/
ReplyDeleteThat looks absolutely lovely, you have a very artistic mind, if I had attempted to do that, it would have looked like a mish-mash of string and twigs. What is it with men and cutting back, more like murdering. My husband is the same. Seasons greetings. Sue H.
ReplyDeleteGreat stuff (not so much the greenery that has been decimated near your shed), but I love your impromptu tree.
ReplyDeleteIf I had a bit more wall space I would do the same this year. With two mad-as-a-hatter kittens that ravage my house plants, I am in no hurry to put up a tree. :)
Unfortunately Ginger, our usually non-mischievous cat, has discovered the decorations and that he can reach the bottom few 'branches' he keep knocking things off into the 'cracker pot' and then is obsessed with dragging the crackers out so he can find his prey. He has never bothered with our 'normal' Christmas trees before .... I have awoken something in him ;-)
Deletetry orange peel..most cats loathe it,so you may be lucky
DeleteI like that idea, very clever.
ReplyDeleteLove it Sue! Excellent use of spare branches. (I must confess to being accused of being a 'bloody vandal' when pruning myself... I'll suggest your tree as a sweetener next time!)
ReplyDeleteJenni