*Another Simply Homemade post!  To see the other ideas, start here.

I am a little nervous about this post.

I’m just not sure you all are going to be able to stick with me when I show you my crazy project.  I should trust you by now–after all, you’re still here even after I hung a metal mattress spring on the wall and called it art.

But I may have crossed the line this time.

It all started years ago when a woman at our church hung a full-sized, decorated Christmas tree upside down from the rafters in the foyer of our sanctuary.  It was all lit up and massive, and when I walked into church the first Sunday after she did it, I gasped because I had never seen anything like it before.  It was a Christmas tree chandelier!

That tree caused no small disturbance in our small community.  I mean, an upside down Christmas tree?  What does that even mean?  It could be sacrilegious and since that was before the Internet was really a thing, no one could Google it so no one knew for sure.

Some people liked it and some people hated it and practically everyone agreed that the board should have been notified before a Christmas tree was hung upside down in church.  

Personally, I couldn’t wait to grow up and make one of my own.

So this year, I did.

Now, before you disown me, let me say that we have since arrived in the modern age so I Googled “What does an upside-down Christmas tree mean?” before I actually hung one from the ceiling.  To my relief, Google assured me that an upside-down Christmas tree is no more irreligious than a regular Christmas tree.  So that’s good.  I think.

Also, you will notice that my inverted Christmas tree is ombre.  I’m probably about three years too late for the ombre trend, but such is my life.  For instance, I have finally made my peace with chevron and I’m pretty sure that trend is over too.

Anyway, I thought the shape of an upside-down Christmas tree lent itself to a variegated color scheme, so I went for it, trend or no trend.

Also, I had the little problem of the color scheme in our rental house.  I had to pick colors that wouldn’t clash with the mustard-on-terra-cotta look we have going on.  So, that’s not hard.

I could have gone with plain gold or silver ornaments, but I wanted something with more impact.  So, I decided to start out with rich chocolate ornaments, fade to deep crimson, then copper, gold, and finally, silver.

You could do an ombre tree in any colors your husband won’t divorce you over.  I think deep purple fading to silver would be fantastic (except it wouldn’t look good next to mustard-fading-to-ketchup walls).  I was tempted to go with various shades of green, but since I already had quite a few gold, silver, and burgundy ornaments in my stash, I decided to spend a little less on “charitable giving” to Hobby Lobby this year and use what I had.

If you’re still reading this post, you might want to make an inverted Christmas tree yourself.  Or, perhaps, you wonder how I convinced my husband that Hobby Lobby is a home for disenfranchised children and all those credit card charges are really donations to charity.

It’s simple (the tree, that is).   This is what you’ll need:

An artificial tree (mine is 3′)

Lights!

Ornaments!  Go ombre or go home!  Just kidding.  You can decorate however you like.  I’m not a hater.  Just make sure you have a LOT of ornaments (see below).

Ribbons!

A ceiling hook.  I used two Monkey Hooks because they hold a ton of weight.

Green floral wire

How to Make an Inverted Christmas Tree

(Ombre Optional)

1) Discard the flimsy little legs that come with your tree and make sure that the trunk has no moving parts that might come loose when you flip the tree upside down.  If it does, toss those too.  You want a solid trunk, nothing more.

2) Wrap floral wire around the trunk to create a loop by which to hook the tree from your ceiling.

3) Wrap lights and ribbon around your tree.  Wrap the ribbon all the way up the trunk to the ceiling to cover the hook so it looks like the trunk is going right into your beautiful popcorn ceiling (see below for a flashback to the ceilings of yesteryear).

4) Now you can start adding ornaments.  You’ll need a lot.  I mean, somewhere between a bazillion and a gazillion.  You might think you have enough when you start this project, but you are wrong.  Then you will go to the store to buy some more, but you will be wrong again.  Just get them all.  All the ornaments you can find.

Fortunately, you can pick up ornaments on the cheap at thrift stores, garage sales, or the Hobby Lobby Home for Disenfranchised Children (wink, wink).  Place a few special ornaments in strategic places and they will “hide” the cheaper ornaments.

Wire the ornaments directly to the branches so they won’t fall off.  If you secure them well enough, you may be able to store them on the tree when the season is over.

5) Stand back and admire your work!  Or, if you’re insecure, stand back and wonder if an inverted Christmas tree is just plain weird.

I happen to like the way it looks over the little freebie desk I decoupaged.  I would even go so far as to suggest that this would be a great project to make for someone who can’t have a Christmas tree because of pets or small children, or for the couple that’s just starting out.

Or maybe it makes the perfect place to sit and spend a silent night.  And couldn’t we all use one of those?

*Tomorrow’s Simply Homemade project is not upside-down at all.  But it does involve duct tape.  In other words, it’s one for the guys.

 

Save