Herringbone Tree Card

Wooden sticks are an effective way to create simple Scandi-style designs for Christmas cards, tags and decorations.

Herringbone Tree Card

Skill Level

Beginner

Time to Make

1 hour + drying time for glue

How to Make

Tree Card

  1. To make a tree with 5 layers and a trunk, you need 5 wooden craft sticks. Measure 4.5cm from both curved ends of 4 sticks then mark the points in pencil. Draw diagonal lines at 45-degree angles from both the pencil marks towards the curved ends.
  2. Carefully cut across the lines with a knife by scoring the sticks several times until they are easy to break. Use a strong snap off blade knife for cutting the sticks, or use a large pair of scissors. Smooth the ends with sandpaper.
  3. Cut a piece of white card 3cm x 7cm then snip off 1cm from both the top corners at 45-degree angles. Start making the tree by applying glue onto a wooden stick, including the angled end, then press it onto the card, slightly above the top edge. Glue another piece of stick facing the opposite way, so the 2 angled ends join into a point. Glue the other pieces underneath so they neatly join together into a tree shape with 4 layers.
  4. Cut the remaining wooden stick into 2 shorter angled sections then glue in place at the bottom of the tree, with the curved ends level across the bottom. Cut the left over piece into a point at one end then glue it in place for the trunk. The card backing should now be covered. Leave the glue to dry.
  5. Lightly brush over the tree with white paint for a paler colour effect, or use a subtle colour if you prefer. Keep the brush as dry as possible so the wood is still visible.
  6. Glue the finished tree onto a folded background card. Glue a curved white card strip over the base of the tree trunk for a snowy effect.

Decoration

  1. The size of the backing card and number and length of the sticks can be scaled up for a bigger sized tree. To hang the tree, glue a loop of twine with a bead onto the back.
Herringbone Tree Card Herringbone Tree Card Herringbone Tree Card

Top Tip

If there are any sticks which don’t fit together neatly in the middle, carefully re-cut one section to make the end into a sharper or shallower angle, or smooth it down with sandpaper.