Make cute budget Christmas decor with tree slices and everyday craft supplies. Reversible natural Christmas decorations are perfect when on a budget! Learn how to transfer text to wood so you don’t need a cutting machine. One one side you’ll have Boo decor and the other is Joy decor!
The holiday season is quickly approaching. I am so ready to start decorating for Fall and Halloween, I just wish the temperature would come down so it would feel like Fall!
Last year I made outdoor reversible wooden decorations with a pumpkin on one side and an ornament on the other. I decided to make something similar this year since I love how easy it is to keep out the same budget decor for two seasons!
This one uses tree slices, paint, and Sharpie or chalk markers. No need for a Cricut for this cute budget Christmas decor, but if you have one you can definitely use it!
I have a full video tutorial on how to make these so make sure to watch it. Plus grab printable directions at the bottom of the post.
Materials Needed for Wood Slice Decor
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- wood slices – My neighbor had some branches from a tree that had died and had to be cut down in their yard so I asked to use them. I cut the branches into about 1/2-1 inch slices with my miter saw. You can also always find wood slices on Amazon.
- paint and paintbrushes – I used orange acrylic and red chalk paint
- printer, paper, and pencil
- Sharpie paint markers or Liquid chalk markers
- Optional- a piece of wood, burlap, and a hot glue gun
Painting Wood Slices – Pumpkin Side First
Once you have the three wood slices you are going to use, decide which side is going to be the bottom. You’ll want them to kind of stand so pick the flattest side if possible.
Paint the insides on one side orange. I had an orange acrylic paint on hand that I used. Try to use long vertical strokes so that they look like pumpkins.
Let them dry. I added a few darker lines to give them more depth. Add a darker orange into the lighter paint, mix them together, and then make arcs down vertically.
Let the wooden pumpkins fully dry!
How to Transfer Text to Wood!
I promised you wouldn’t need a cutting machine for this project and here’s why. I am going to show you how to transfer text to wood using the pencil transfer method. If you have nice lettering abilities, you could definitely freehand the letters too!
So, here’s how I transfer image to painted wood. Print out the letters you want on “mirror” setting. They need to be backwords. You can download and print the letters I used here.
Cut the letters you want out and starting tracing the outside of the letters with a pencil. Push down kind of hard.
Next, flip them over and place them image side down in the middle of the painted wooden pumpkin.
Use the top of a marker or a pencil tip to trace over the top of the letter. The pencil markings you made on the front side will now transfer to the wood leaving you an outline of a letter!
Painting the Boo Decor
Now that you have a pretty letter, use a paint marker or paintbrush to paint it in. I like to trace the pencil markings with the paint marker first and then paint the inside.
These are the same paint markers I used on my Our Love Story canvas.
Now on to Making Joy Decor
Joy on the tree slices adds perfectly to the rest of my DIY Christmas decor.
To have reversible wood slice decor, simply turn over the boo decor slices and paint the pack of the tree slices (once the BOO is dry!). I used red chalk paint.
You need to be mindful of what slices you are putting what letters on and make sure the same side is up! I did mine wrong the first time and had to repaint two of them.
**Make sure to put the Y on the back of the B and the J on the back of an O.**
Repeat all of the steps above. Cut the JOY letters and trace the outside of the letters with a pencil.
Place them on dry wood slices and use the pencil transfer method to rub off the lead onto the wood.
I ended up using liquid chalk markers for this side because my paint marker was acting funny. It really doesn’t matter!
Then I added a few dots with white and silver markers.
Applying Burlap to Wood Base
This is an optional step. You could drill holes in the tree slices and add wooden dowels to them and stick them in plants. Or you can lean them up against something.
I wanted them to stand up so I decided to glue them to a scrap piece of wood. Since the wood was old and dirty, I hot glued a piece of burlap ribbon around it. You could always stain it or paint the wood!
I folded the corners of burlap like a present and glued it over on the bottom side. The edges do have a slight lift to them, but nothing that is noticeable!
Once the glue is dry, hot glue on the wood slices in the correct order. Since I was filming, my middle letter is slightly crooked…eek!
That’s it! Now you have budget Christmas decor that you can also have out during the Fall.
You can always add ribbons, bows, or embellishments to either side.
Here are your printable directions…
Make your own budget Christmas decor that doubles as budget Halloween decor! A reversible Boo decor sign and Joy decor sign using tree slices is the perfect addition to natural Christmas decorations! Download the PDF of BOO and JOY letters in the post.
Budget Christmas Decor: Use Tree Slices to Make Cute Holiday Decor
Materials
Tools
Instructions
Notes
Thanks so much for stopping by and please comment below with any questions!
Have a creative day,
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