Christmas Designs

Flourished and Glistening

Angela Hoffman from Church at the Springs in Ocala, Florida brings us this beautiful Christmas design. (originally posted August 2012)

They were inspired by String Theory to make some string Christmas trees. To make the tree in the center which was 20′ tall, they created a scrap wood base, 8′ in diameter, and painted it black. Then they placed screws every 2″ on the side of the circle leaving 1″ of the screws sticking out from the circle. They strung Polypropylene Pulling Twine (which is used by electricians and comes in 6500′ buckets for around $35) around each screw and up through a carabiner hanging from a chain in the ceiling. They created 5 trees, an 8′, 2 at 6′ diameter, and 2 at 4′ diameter. The twine has to stay tight the whole time so they had one person up in a lift and one person on the ground passing the twine between them on another carabiner. This twine is a clear nylon with a small blue thread running through it which adds a blue color to it.

They surrounded the trees with contractor’s plastic sheeting which comes in large rolls.

The background around their large screen was created using black landscaping weed block cloth which was in a long roll 4′ wide (special ordered from Home Depot). They laid it out and painted the swirl pattern on it with layers of white acrylic paint. Because the paint seeps through the cloth they had to have it on top of a drop cloth and do several coats. Then they stapled it on to their black back wall.

This was a great hit at the holidays and was done for less than $350.

Time After Time Angled We Have Heard

11 responses to “Flourished and Glistening”

  1. Jeff Jansen says:

    Leave it to my friends at Church at the Springs to do this! They are one VERY creative church!

  2. ivan says:

    what type of material did the church use to make the christmas trees

  3. ivan says:

    what the type of material did the church use to create the christmas trees?

  4. Debbie says:

    Can you tell me where you got the toppers for these trees?

  5. Angela Hoffman says:

    Ivan, We got the nylon twine from an electrical supply store. They have large buckets of it and it comes blue or green. Debbie, not sure where the toppers were from…we took them from storage. They were made from cardboard material with an metallic shiny type surface. They would be easy to make using the decorative material they use for cars…you could probably get it from an auto parts store.

    • Lauren Shirley says:

      Great design, thanks for sharing. What material did you use for the snowy looking overhang on the front of stage?

      • Angela Hoffman says:

        The snow on front of stage is carved out of 2″ white styrofoam that is 2 lb. in weight. It is dense enough to be carved and sanded in a rounded shape.

  6. tracy grubbs says:

    love this. great idea. thanks for posting it.

  7. Where did you get the stars for the tops of the trees?

  8. Amy Anderson says:

    white styrofoam that is 2 lb. in weight. it is dense sufficient to be carved and sanded in a rounded form

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