!2—Lancaster Farming. Saturday. November 24. 1973
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By Sally Bair
Feature Writer
Nothing can help you express
the warm spirit of the Christmas
season like hand-crafted
decorations fashioned from
greens.
Here’s a door decoration or
wall banging that is simple and
inexpensive to make and that will
add cheer to your - home
throughout the holiday season.
It’s, a plywood Christmas tree
covered with greens.
The supplies you will need
include V* inch plywood, 1 inch
chicken wire, wire cutters,
masking tape, heavy duty
stapler, small square of green
felt, white glue, any kinds of
greens you choose and bows or
other decorations as you desire to
complete your tree.
The first step in the process
after the tree is cut is to bend
the chicken wire around the
tree, leaving some slack so
that the greens can be in
serted. Be sure to align the
bottom of the wire with the
bottom of the tree.
inserting arborvitae in the chicken wire. Any kind of greens
may be used successfully.
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Just a few simple supplies will allow you to create a lovely
tree for your wall or door. Plywood, chicken wire, stapler,
masking tape, glue, felt and greens are all you need.
According to Mrs. Christ
Greider, Mount Joy RD2, who
taught members of Farm Women
Society 18 to make Jhe
decoration, the dimensions of t(ie
plywood tree are 24 inch from the
tip of the tree to the bottom of the'
stand. More specifically, the
bottom of the tree measures 9 v
inch across, and the point of the
tree is 20 inch above that line,
making the stand or base 4 inch
deep'. These dimensions can, of
course, be altered, depending
upon the size of finished
decoration you wish to have. Drill
a hole toward the top of the tree
for easier hanging.
You will need a 13 inch x 24 inch
piece of the chicken wire, again
changing the dimensions if you
change the size of the tree.
The first step is to cover the
front of the plywood tree with the
chicken wire, aligning the bottom
of the wire with the bottom of the
wire with the bottom of the tree.
The wire must be folded to the
back of the tree, leaving some
slack so that the greens can be
inserted easily. Cut off the excess
wire with wire cutters and staple
the wire in place on the back side.
Next cover the ends of the wire
with masking tape so that it won’t
scratch the door or wall against
which it will be hanging when
finished.
The stand of the tree must then
be covered with the felt. Cut the
felt the desired size with enough
overlap to fold to the back side,
and glue in place with white glue.
A finished product, created by using American holly. Ve*
bows and a ribbon highlight the tree.
Those are the simple basic
steps to construct the tree, and
now you’re ready to insert the
greens. Almost any type of
greens you have available will do
-arborvitae, boxwood, holly, etc -
Mrs. Greider suggests saving the
greens when you prune your
shrubbery. She adds that it is
important to condition the greens
before using them by soaking
them overnight in water so
they’re full. The Farm Women
were also reminded that the
speaker at the Extension
homemakers program suggested
adding two tablespoons of brown
sugar to warm water for the
conditioning process.
Mrs. Greider says its best to
start inserting the greens at the
bottom of the tree and then
outline the sides to the basic size
and shape of the tree. Then fill it
until you have the tree just the
way you want it. Be sure you’ve
covered the wire completely with
greens.
When you’ve inserted the
. , greens to your satisfaction, finish
off your holiday decoration by
adding a red velvet bow, fruit,
, nuts, birds, flowers, lights, balls,
pc 5 just about anything -Ihat
strikes your fancy.
The basic supplies cost about 50
cents, so with a little time and
creativity you’ve made a lovely
addition to your holidky e
decorations or a welcome gift for
Someone on your list,
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