Trees from Discarded Artifical Christmas Tree

Some modelers have cut the branches to useable length, trimmed what they cut to shape the tree and plant them.  A room size layout will quickly suck up one hundred trees.  You don't have to do them all at once.  Try a tall one, a couple of short ones and place them on your layout.  Then add more.  A good project while watch professional sports on television. A few scraggly ones could be painted brown to simulate a dead tree here and there.  You can always discard them but I think you'll like them.  If all else fails, throw them out and two weeks later regret taking that action.  John in Lansing, ILL

Yes, I've used artificial Christmas tree armatures for down and dirty "quickie" spruce-type trees for my temporary "Classic Christmas" display I used to host. The flimsier the Christmas tree "limbs" (those using smaller diameter twisted wire) the better for such purposes.

I used angle cutting dykes to cut a piece of a Christmas tree limb into deisired lengths, then used cheap scissors to trim the artificial "needles" into a conical shape. I would cut/trim trees in batches. A single 6' Christmas tree would yield a BUNCH of spruce-type trees of varying height. (I don't think I went over 8" or so in height?)

I stored the trees in plastic garbage bags until the next year.

When finished you have a "bottle brush" type tree that you didn't have to put much time into its creation!

Good snag!

Andre