Who knew old lampshades could make the perfect Christmas tree? This clever DIY upcycles vintage lampshade frames into a beautiful rustic tree that’s full of character. Using a wooden pole as the trunk and a cookie tin base filled with plaster, the lampshades are stacked from largest to smallest for a space-saving, sustainable holiday decoration. Whether you leave it bare for an industrial look or add lights and ornaments, this unique handmade tree is guaranteed to turn heads and spark conversation.

I have a confession to make! I don't like real Christmas trees, that's why I created a rustic Christmas tree! That's not totally true. I do like real Christmas trees. I just don't like them in my house. The dropped pine needles drive me mad. I have tried non-needle-shedding pine trees, but they still shed their needles.

Another thing I'm not keen on with real Christmas trees is the space they take up. Not so much their height but their girth. With five adults and a dog, space can be a bit tight in my house. I think if I lived in a massive, spacious home with a cleaner to hoover up the dropped needles, I might soften my stance against real Christmas trees.

Upcycled Lampshades Into A Rustic Christmas Tree

In the meantime, every year, I love to make an upcycled, repurposed alternative Christmas tree. This year I made a wire rustic Christmas tree from old lampshades.

This rustic Christmas tree is so sparse and bare that it's perfect for showing off your homemade Christmas ornaments. There are plenty of places to hang them, and they don't get lost amongst green foliage.

I have to admit I went a bit overboard with the decorating of this tree. It looks like a toddler on a sugar high dressed up after eating a tube of Smarties. This isn't a one-off; I tend to decorate my Christmas trees like this every year. Growing up, my mum would have themed orderly decorations for the Christmas tree; the kids weren't allowed to decorate it. Or if we did, my mum would carefully rearrange the ornaments when we weren't looking.

I decided that when I grew up, my Christmas tree would be full of homemade decorations and a riot of colour—no matching baubles in sight. So far, this is one goal from my childhood that I have achieved!

What you need

• A selection of old scalloped lampshades in various sizes. With or without the shades, it doesn't matter; you need the wireframes.

• Old wooden broom handle or large wooden pole about 4ft in length.

• Old round Christmas cookie tin, approx 25-30cm in diameter (you don't need the lid).

• Plaster of Paris - approx 2.5kg
• An assortment of old nails, hooks, and fixings.

How to Make a Wire Rustic Christmas Tree

Step 1: Strip all covers from the lampshades. You want the bare wireframes.

Step 2:  My wooden pole was a bit light in colour for my liking, so I stained it with some dark wood stain. I then placed the lampshades one by one on the pole, starting with the widest lampshade at the bottom.

Top tip: It is easier if you stick the wooden pole in an umbrella stand to hold it upright whilst you attach the lampshade frames.

The wire fixings on each lampshade were different. I attached the lampshades to the pole by creating a place for the shades' inner wires to rest. This involved hammering nails, hooks, and other fixings into the wooden pole. I used old fixings to keep with the upcycled feel of this rustic Christmas tree DIY.

Step 3: Once I was happy with the fixing of the lampshade wires, it was time to make a more permanent stand for the rustic Christmas tree. To do this, I mixed up about 2.5kg of Plaster of Paris until it was the consistency of thick cream. (Approximately 750ml of water per 1kg of powder).

Make sure you always add the powder to the water and not the other way around.

Step 4: Working quickly, pour the plaster into the Christmas tin and then place the base of the wooden pole into the mixture. The plaster will start setting within 20 minutes.

Instead of standing there holding the pole upright whilst waiting for the plaster to set, I wedged the tree between 2 chairs whilst it set.

Step 5: Once the plaster has set, your tree is ready. You can either leave it undecorated if you are going for that industrial rustic simplistic vibe.

As you can see, I went a bit mad with my decorations. So perhaps somewhere in between the two styles would be good.

This wire Christmas tree is perfect for hanging decorations from, and so it’s tempting to put them all on. It’s an excellent showcase for all my homemade Christmas decorations. Such as repurposed-sweater felt garlands, Christmas pudding wood-slice ornaments, and my many heart map ornaments, to name a few.

I think that this rustic Christmas tree would also look great decorated with Christmas cards. It would be easy to peg them to the wireframe. There is a collection of antique Scandinavian Christmas cards here, which I think would look fabulous on this tree.

Yield: Lamshade Wire Christmas Tree

How To Make A Wire Rustic Christmas Tree

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This upcycled wire rustic Christmas tree is so simple and cheap to make. It looks great bare for a minimalist farmhouse/industrial look. Or you can go made with decorations for a more colourful Boho vibe.

Prep Time 20 minutes

Active Time 1 hour

Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes

Difficulty Easy

Estimated Cost $5

Materials

• Old wire scalloped lampshdes in various sizes
• Wooden broom handle
• Wood stain
• Cookie tin
• Plaster of Paris
• Screws and hooks

Tools

• Screwdriver

Instructions

1. Stain the broom handle a dark wood colour
2. Using screws and hooks attach the wire lampshades to the handle
3. Mix up the plaster of Paris in the cookie tin
4. Stand the broom handle in the plaster of Paris until it sets.

Notes

You can make this as big or as small as you like. It will all depend on the number and size of lampshades you use.

If you like to make your own upcycled Christmas trees, then you should check out some of my other DIY Christmas trees.

• Branch DIY Christmas Tree
• Unique DIY Wooden Christmas Tree With Knobs On
• Stylish Scandinavian Christmas Tree

This post featured in the A to Z of clever upcycling ideas and resources.