There’s something particularly special about decorating with something you made yourself. In this post, I’ll show you all how to paint this piece with ease. Then, we’ll chat about some fun ways you can display it and make sure everyone can admire your hard work!
Wooden christmas tree painting ideas
Lighted Christmas Trees
It is time to get out the scroll saw and start making Christmas decorations! Wooden items make wonderful Christmas gifts and decorations and do not cost a fortune to make. This Christmas tree decoration is a little time consuming to craft but it is overall very easy to make. After you saw the pieces out, putting it together is simple. The decoration consists of 3 large pieces – 2 trees and a base piece and 10 stars.
For this project you will need:
– plywood 8-10 mm thick for the trees
– wood board 18 mm thick for the base
– plywood 4 mm thick for the stars
– paint in the following colors: (dark green, white, red, and brown)
– drill with 3.2 mm bit
– larger bit with the same diameter of the sockets of the lights
– screws 35 mm x 3,5 cm long
– scroll saw
– sandpaper
– paintbrushes
– old toothbrush
– wood glue
– light strand with 10 white lights
1. Print out and enlarge the pattern of the tree to the size you desire. In this picture, the larger tree measures about 50 cm and the smaller one measures about 30 cm.
2. Print out the star pattern to a size that measures about 4 cm point to point. Transfer this star 10 times on the 4mm plywood.
3. On the 8cm plywood piece, transfer the 2 tree sizes and saw them out. Sand the pieces down afterwards.
4. With the larger bit, drill 10 holes in the tree at random points on the tree
5. Drill a hole in the center of each star.
6. Design a roundish shaped base for the trees. It should be wide and long enough for the trees to stand comfortably on. This design gets transferred onto the 18mm board and sawed out. Sand the piece down.
7. Paint all sides of the trees in dark green and the tops and sides of the stars in red.
8. Once dried, dry brush the edges with white.
9. Dip the toothbrush into white paint and sprinkle the trees and stars with the paint. You do this by rubbing your thumb over the bristles over your object and letting the paint splatter.
10. Dry brush the edge of the base piece white. Once dry, dry brush with brown paint and sprinkle with brown paint.
11. Line up the holes and glue the stars over the holes drilled in the tree.
12. With the 3,2 mm drill bit, drill a hole in the bottoms of both trees and also 2 holes in the base where the trees will be standing.
13. Put a small amount of glue on the bottom of the trees and screw them onto the board.
14. Insert the light strand from behind the tree.
Illustrated Craft Tutorials:
Where to Buy the Wood Blank
How cute is this wooden cut out? I love the classic image of a pick up truck hauling a Christmas tree.
This wood blank was cut out by my talented husband, but you can often buy blanks online.
I even found a cute wooden blank that is pulling a little camper on the back! This would be so fun to paint with some pops of teal.
How to Paint a Truck with Christmas Tree
First of all, we are going to elevate this painting project. A lot of poeple simply paint the tree a flat green and paint the truck a flat red and call it a day. But, with a tiny bit more effort, we can make this a really cool, realistic looking piece.
Ready to know what’s the secret sauce? Shading! Shading will absolutely elevate your artwork. It sounds scary, but I promise it’s SO easy. I’ll walk you through it!
Paint the Tree
Start by painting the tree. I like to use a nice, bright green shade of craft paint—I just dab it on with a small brush. Make sure you get the edges as well since this is a thicker dimensional piece.
Now we’re going to give it a bit of a pop. Metallic paints are a simple way to do this and one of my favorite supplies to work with. Add some metallic green to the tree, and add in some dark green matte metallic on the top.
Paint the Truck
Start by painting the base of the truck your brighter red. Give it a nice, even coat—don’t forget the edges!
Add Shading
Remember, shading isn’t scary! It’s worth the tiny bit of extra effort because it will make your pieces absolutely pop. To add dimension to the truck, you’ll want a few different shades of red. I chose a bright, cheery red as the base, then added a darker red and a bronze for shading. You could also use copper if that’s what you have on hand! You will also want to have black paint on hand.
Then, use the bronze color to paint shading. Think of where the shadows on a car would naturally fall, like directly under the windows and over the wheel hubs. The video in the free tutorial gives you a great visual of where to add the paint. I start with just a small amount, then go back and make the paint thicker.
Paint the Window
I use a silver metallic paint to fill in the window area. Then, go back with a small brush and paint the outline of the window in black paint to give it definition.
Paint the Wheels
The wheels are pretty simple – just fill the tires in with black paint, then paint the hubcap area in the metallic silver paint.
Add Snow
This was my favorite touch! It makes this piece totally festive and Christmas-y to add in a layer of snow. I’ll show you exactly what to do in the free tutorial video, but here’s where I put it:
- Paint the top of the Christmas tree. All you need to do is take a bright white and do a line at the top following the tree outline.
- Layer the same shade on the branches of the tree.
- Add a bit of white to all the shadowed areas of the truck.
- Outline the hubcap area with white.
- Take the back of your paintbrush and dip it into your white paint. Then add dots all over your truck—this part is so fun! Just blob it on wherever you think will look good.
Paint on a Logo
This is an extra part that’s just for fun, but I like adding a little logo onto the truck’s door! This is a great way to add a little bit of personalization to your piece. You can add a symbol that’s special to you, or a monogram, or even a cute saying.
Of course, you can freehand these designs, but you can also do what I do and use a vinyl stencil. Again, you can buy these on Etsy, but you can also cut your own on something like a Cricut cutting machine.
Just add your stencil and blob on your paint! Or, if you want to freehand, use a small brush and go slow. Don’t worry—if you mess up, it’s only paint! It can be fixed…that’s part of why I love art!
Let Dry
That’s it! You can let this piece dry on it’s own for a few hours, or take a hair dryer on low and speed up the process a bit. If you display this outside, you may want to use a matte clear waterproofing spray paint after it dries to keep it protected from the elements.
How to Display the Truck and Tree
Now that you have this beautiful art piece created, let’s talk about how to show off your hard work! Here are a few ideas for you:
- Attach a wire and make a door hanger
- Make it into part of a Christmas wreath
- Add it to your Christmas tree
- Give it as a gift to friends and family (don’t forget to add a personal logo to the door of the truck for them!)
- Display it on a shelf
- Layer it on your mantle
There are so many possibilities! You’ll love pulling out this one year after year. Enjoy and have FUN!
