Since the theme for my Easter decor was going to be Easter Eggs, (because of the fabric that I chose)  I started to shop around for an Easter Egg Tree or an Ornament Stand.  I couldn’t believe the prices!  Not one of them were under $28.00!  And I didn’t like any of the designs.  My brain went into high gear to come up with an inexpensive tree that would go with my holiday decorations this year. This is what I came up with:

It’s a little time consuming, but can be customized to meet your needs & home colors.

Here’s what you’ll need:

4″ Terra-cotta pot & saucer

Acrylic Paint  (your choice of color)

paint brush

hot glue gun & glue sticks

scissors

14 gauge wire

wire cutters

needle nose pliers

twist ties

1 1/4 cup Plaster of Paris

5/8 cup water

disposable plastic bowl or cup

plastic lid (anything you have around the house)

plastic spoon

an old thread spool or something to curve the wire around (you could use a wooden dowel, old round curtain rod, pill bottle, etc…)

First, I base coated the pot & saucer with acrylic paint.  It needed a second coat.

I used the spool to trace a circle on the plastic lid.

Then I cut the circle out of the lid. (this will be used to cover the hole in the flower pot)

I added some hot glue to the inside of the pot, around the hole in the bottom.

Then I placed the circle that I made from the plastic lid over the hole in the bottom of the pot.  I added more hot glue on top of the circle to seal the edges of the circle & make it water tight.  (this is to keep the plaster of Paris from leaking out while it’s still in liquid form, before it hardens)

Part one, finished.

Next, cutting the wires.

I cut several pieces of wire. 1 – 17″, 2 – 16″. 2 -15″, 1 -14″, 1 -13″, 2 -12″.  You can make yours what ever size you want. 

Then I bent one end of the wire up (about an inch) to prevent the wire from pulling out of the Plaster of Paris.

I tested the bend in the pot to see how tightly it needed bent.

Using the needle nose pliers, I curled the other end of the wire, creating a ‘hook’ for the ornaments to hang from.

Using the spool, I curved the wire around it.

                      

Repeat for all of the wires: (and yes, you can see the rainbows that fill my craft room when I’m working.)

Gather all of your wires together, turning them so that the bottom ends are going every which way. Then use twist ties to keep them together.  Put the twist ties towards the bottom of the bunch so they will be under the Plaster of Paris.

                    

Next step: mixing the Plaster of Paris.  I used 1 1/4 cup of Plaster of Paris to 5/8 cup of room temperature water until smooth.

Set the wires in the pot and pour the Plaster of Paris into the pot.  Add more Plaster of Paris if needed.  I used the handles of the needle nose pliers to balance the wires in place until it dried.  (I let it sit over night)

                                                           

While holding the wires in the middle, slowly bend the wires outward to separate the ‘branches’ of the tree:

                  

Play with it until you get a shape that you like.

I used some of the left over fabric from my placemats to make a small round mat for the pot.  This is not necessary, but I don’t like to throw away fabric if I can find a way to use it.

                     

The Easter Egg Tree is done.  At this point, it can be used for eggs, or ornaments at Christmas.  I added some Easter grass & a few left over eggs to decorate the base of the ‘tree’.  (These are not permanent so that I can reuse it.)

                       

I like the way it looks in the center of the table with the place settings.  I hope you’ll try your own version of this little centerpiece.