Beach-style Christmas tree decoration

Mark Rayner shows you how to create this simple outdoor table decoration – a perfect centrepiece for a balmy Christmas barbecue.

How to make a beach-style christmas tree table decoration

You will need:

A bucket, trowel, piece of wood, builders' mortar mix, construction glue.
Pieces of driftwood, small white pebbles, shells, pumice.
Garden twine, a terracotta pot and a paintbrush.
Resene Terracotta Sealer and Resene testpots of Resene Double Biscotti and Resene Quarter Biscotti.

Here's another option: You can use other objects such as pieces of beach glass, paua shells, scoria and glass beads to create a more colourful Christmas tree decoration. Or colour the driftwood itself by staining it with Resene Colorwood or priming with Resene Quick Dry and painting with your favourite Resene testpot colours.

Get the look: Mark painted the table with Resene Enamacryl tinted to Resene Woodstock.

Step 1 how to make a beach-style christmas tree table decoration

Step 1
Apply one coat of Resene Terracotta Sealer to the inside and outside of the pot and allow to dry.

Step 2 how to make a beach-style christmas tree table decoration

Step 2
Apply two coats of Resene Quarter Biscotti to the outside of the pot, allowing two hours for each coat to dry.

Step 3 how to make a beach-style christmas tree table decoration

Step 3
Apply two coats of Resene Double Biscotti to the upper rim of the pot, allowing two hours for each coat to dry.

Step 4 how to make a beach-style christmas tree table decoration

Step 4
Form a Christmas tree shape using pieces of driftwood, as shown, fixing together with garden twine.

Step 5
Fix shells to the driftwood form, as shown, using construction glue.

Step 6
Fix pumice to the driftwood form, as shown, using construction glue.

Step 7
Fix a larger piece of pumice to the top of the driftwood form, as shown. Again, fix with construction glue. Allow construction glue to dry.