How-to: Tree Stump Card Holder

This guest post is written by Emily Kinskey who is a designer and writer in the sustainable travel industry who can make home décor out of just about anything – as long as it’s green.

Packing bright holiday cheer back into boxes can make your home seem a little lonely after the hustle and bustle of the holidays. Not to mention that the bags of wrapping and packaging are enough to make any eco conscience a little bit guilty. Luckily, there are creative ways to use holiday décor in a whole new way as winter persists. This simple three step tutorial offers several decorating tips for a Christmas tree stump card holder – an eco friendly and free winter craft that you can make from your Christmas tree or leftover tree lot stumps.

This winter, I’ve been researching how to use found objects to decorate the eco vacation homes my company is working on – think driftwood chandeliers and pebble countertops. Now, with the holidays over, I’ve been working in ways to use leftover holiday decor, that might otherwise go to waste, and turn it into tasteful home decor. By November in Chicago, it seems that there is a Christmas tree lot on every corner. Real tree vs. fake tree debate aside, these trees have already been imported into the city, and as they are adopted one by one, a huge pile of discarded branches and excess tree stumps are gathering at the back of each lot. Luckily, the city has a Christmas tree recycling program where trees are recycled into mulch for gardeners. However, my Charlie Brown heart wants to make something a bit…craftier from the fragrant sappy stumps left in empty tree lots and shaved from the bottom of now ornament-less trees. Here’s how to craft a Christmas tree stump into a card or photo holder.

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