I LOVE olive trees but I don’t love their price tag! I’ll show you how I took a tree from our yard (not kidding) and turned it into a beautiful DIY olive tree for our living room for a fraction of the cost!
I’m a frugal person at heart. I don’t mind investing in things like tools but decor items are another story.
Don’t get my wrong, I love decor. You can often find me circling the Hearth & Hand section at Target or Home Goods.
Still, I couldn’t bring myself to spend $150+ on a tree that will sit in the corner of my living room.
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That’s when I saw someone DIY an olive tree using a tree branch and some fake olive branches from Hobby Lobby. There were a few different people at the time doing their own versions of the DIY Olive Tree so I set out to create my own!
Here’s what I did:
Step One: Find a Tree and/or Branch
It was winter in New York when I did this project so I had a lot of easy options right in my front yard!
I got my boots on and walked through the snow to scope out a tree. I looked for a decent size that would make sense with my ceiling height. I wanted enough branches so that I’d be able to fill it out, and I wanted it to be sturdy enough that it wouldn’t break after being inside.
I grabbed a few different one and used a handsaw to cut them down. I propped them up in my garage so that I could visualize each one.
My son, who was 5 at the time, was really entertained by this. He was very invested in the project that involved mom cutting down trees and bringing them inside!
Step Two: Create a Base
I found an inexpensive basket and purchased a block of styrofoam at Hobby Lobby when I picked up my olive branches. The olive branches were on sale at the time so they were very affordable!
If you had a spare basket around the house, you could use that as well! I chose to spray paint the bottom of mine to give it a little extra interest.
Next, I used my drill and a large drill bit to create a hole that was big enough to fit the tree branch, but small enough that it held the tree branch fairly tight. I wanted it to be fairly sturdy since boys and toy dinosaurs can be… destructive.
Step Three: Add the Branches
Once the tree was standing, I checked it over. I removed a couple of the branches but left most of them. When I was happy with how the Tree branches rounded out the tree, I got to work adding the branches.
I chose to add the branches by attaching a very small drill bit (one of the smallest I had) and drilling small holes into the branches to insert the olive tree into. I cut the olive trees up into several pieces so that I could spread them out more.
Here’s a close up of what it looked like when the fake branch was attached to the real one.
From a distance, you can’t even tell! It worked wonderfully!
Alternatively, I’ve seen people use green or brown bouquet tape to attach the branches. I found it more tedious, less sturdy, and more visible but it IS a good option if you don’t have access to a power drill or drill bits.
Step Four: Keep Going Until You’ve Got An Olive Tree!
Every once an awhile it helps to step back and take a look at your tree, that way you can see how it’s filling out and any spots that may need some attention.
Here’s the end product:
As you can see, there’s no more snow! I’m writing this over 6 months later and my tree is still going strong!
And yes, it’s endured a very active 5 year old who loves dinosaurs and remote-control vehicles.
Affordable Decor Meets Fun Project!
This easy olive tree hack is a fast and affordable project that anyone can do! Simply pick your branch, grab a few bundles of olive branches and start creating this beautiful piece of decor for your home!
If you enjoyed this tutorial, be sure to stop by my stories on Instagram for more DIY projects!