Use an easy scrolling trick to make a cheerful table decoration in an afternoon
By Sue Mey
This pretty decoration brings the spirit of an autumn afternoon into your home … without taking more than an afternoon to make! It’s easy to cut and paint, and can be stored flat. For a different look, cut the tree from hardwood plywood. Or, experiment with your paint colors: use shades of green for a spring tree, or paint the tree black and add some faux spider webs for a spooky Halloween decoration.
Making the Tree
Speed up the cutting—or make two projects at once—by stack-cutting the trees parts. Simply stack the wood, fasten it securely, and cut two (or four) pieces at once. (For information on stack cutting, see Scroll Saw Basics.) However, separate the stack and cut the slots individually; you need one tree with a top slot and one tree with a bottom slot. Sand gently to remove any fuzzies.
Paint the leaves with acrylic paints if desired. Thin the paint slightly with water and blend the colors, such as red and yellow, to create the look of autumn leaves. I painted the trunk and branches brown, but you can also leave them natural wood. Let the paint dry, and then spray the tree with several thin coats of acrylic finish.
To display, simply slot the tree pieces together. You can apply cyanoacrylate (CA) glue (such as Super Glue) to secure the pieces if you like, or leave them unglued for easy storage.
Materials:
- Baltic birch plywood, 1/8″ (3mm) thick: 2 each 10″ x 11″ (25.4cm x 27.9cm)
- Sandpaper: 120 grit
- Acrylic paint (optional)
- Acrylic finish
- Cyanoacrylate (CA) glue (optional)
- Materials for stacking blanks (see Scroll Saw Basics)
Tools:
- Scroll saw blades: #2
- Paintbrush (optional)
Pattern
Click here to download the patterns.
About the Author
Sue Mey lives in Pretoria, South Africa. To see more of her work, including a wide variety of patterns and pattern-making tutorials available for purchase, visit www.scrollsawartist.com.
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