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Starting out:
The first thing to do is, decide how big you want this thing to be. Mine is 6
feet 8 inches tall and 20 inches in diameter (at the top), tapering down to 24 inches in diameter (at
the bottom). I also decided I wanted the base to be anchored to a half sheet of plywood for stability
and I went with a four by four feet square base. I came up with the height because that was the maximum
height allowed in my garage with the door open (one year it rained on Halloween, so I set the tree up
in my garage under the raised door). With that in mind, everything contained in this tutorial is loosely
based on my tree's dimensions.
The materials' list is not carved in stone. Use what you have,
what you can scrounge, or go buy it. If you have a bunch of scrap plywood, various thickness, and 1-bys,
things will be cheap for you. I bought two full sheets of 3/8 (the cheap grade... this ain't no Chippendale
dining set); six or seven 1x4x8' cheapo pine boards; (approximately) four 1x8x8' pine boards; about 12
feet of 2x2's, or 2x3's (choose whatever material you'd like, but I suggest some type of hardwood); and
(approximately) another 4 to 6 feet of 1x6 (or 1x8) hardwood. You'll also need a roll, or two, of 1"
chicken wire (or similar). Other materials include: enough indoor/outdoor carpet to cover the base; (base)
white, brown, gray and black paint; screws, nails, staples; a couple boxes of (again, cheap) wallpaper
paste (the kind you mix up with water); and some thin, red tissue paper.
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