The big day is here! It is my turn to post my 12 Days of DIY Christmas project.  In case you missed it, I explained the challenge and shared the 12 other blogger’s projects yesterday.  You don’t want to miss those posts either!

For my project I made these adorable Santas and Trees out of some scrap 2x4s I had in the workshop.


With the busy holiday season I didn’t want a huge complicated build.. I knew that nobody would have time for that.. so instead I went back to my roots of keeping it simple!

This project was actually a little more complicated than it would first appear, since it can be pretty tricky to rip down 2x4 at angle from both directions.

I’ll share how I was able to make them on my miter saw, as well as some other ways you could rip them down to get these perfect little triangles below.

 Supplies:

• 2x4s (or any 2-by lumber.. the width of the base of the trees or Santas is limited by the width of your lumber)
• Craft Paint & Brushes (this set has all the colors you will need)
• Fine Grit Sandpaper
• Pencil

Method 1:
Sliding Miter Saw (you could use a fixed arm miter saw but the blocks would have to be shorter)
Clamps 

Method 2:
Table Saw
Tapering Jig
Grr-ripper Push Block

Method 3: 
Circular Saw

Method 4: 
Band Saw

Tutorial:

Without a doubt, the hardest part of this project is cutting down 2x4s along the grain at an angle.  Most of my examples were cut with two 10-15° angles meeting in the center of the board.

There are a bunch of ways to accomplish this, some easier (and safer) than others.

How I cut the boards:
I recently purchased a brand new sliding arm 12 inch compound miter saw and this project was its first big test. I think I typcially would have chosen to use my table saw instead, but I wanted to try out my new toy!
Because the blade came so close to the edge of the board I held the boards in place with clamps and a push stick to make the cuts.  This is definitely not the safest or easiest way to rip down 2x4s.

Other ways of cutting the boards:

2. Table Saw:
This is the method I would typically have used, and if I were to make more of these, I would definitely use a table saw.  If you are going to use a table saw to rip the boards down, I would HIGHLY recommend a tapering jig.   There is just no other way to do it quite as easily.  This video has a good explanation of how to use one:
I also would definitely use my Grr-ripper since the board you are cutting is so small.

3. Circular Saw
I’d only recommend this method if you have a steady hand and are really comfortable with your circular saw.  I ripped down similar sized boards when I put together my tongue and groove west elm knockoff mirror and I am not sure I would have been able to follow an angled line.. but it is possible.

You can also take the time to build a saw guide like this one from Ana White, especially if you plan on making a lot of cuts

4. Band Saw
This method is pretty straight forward.. just cut along the line on a band saw.  Since I don’t own a band saw, this wasn’t an option for me.. but if you do this is a pretty good way of cutting the angle. Because you have to free hand the cut, you may need a little more sanding


Once the triangles were cut, I sanded the cut edges and rough surfaces. Many of my boards had knots and imperfections but I just didn’t worry about tit.
  I used a pencil to lightly sketch out the blocks of color on the triangles.  The design I used was really simple since it was all solid blocks of color, no real shading or realism. 
I used craft paint to “color inside the lines.”


The trees were super easy, I just painted them solid green and used the back of my paintbrush to make dot garlands.  It was so simple you could even make it into a kids’ craft project.

You could seal them with polyacrylic if you were worried about chipping. I also considered making them double sided, that would be give you twice the bang for your cutting buck!


I am so flattered to be included in this roundup with 11 other AMAZING building bloggers, and I hope you enjoyed this quick and simple project.  Make sure you head over and check out their projects.  There is so much talent in this group!