DIY Wire Willow Tree

Looking for home decor ideas for your favorite collectibles? Create this beautiful DIY wire willow tree with our tutorial. All in all, it’s a stunning display accessory for your treasured Willow Tree® collectibles!

Icicle ornaments create light-reflective weeping willows to a DIY wire tree in this Willow tree figurine display.

Spun glass icicle ornaments complete the look of wispy weeping willows in this unique wire willow tree! Each artful twist reflects stunning prisms of light that perfectly compliment the simple, suggestive forms of Susan Lordi’s lovely Willow Tree® collection.

DIY Wire Willow Tree

Materials

Materials needed to make a wire willow tree.
  • Wire – The heavier the ornaments you hang, the sturdier you need your wire. We used 72 yards of a combination of 18- and 20- gauge wires.
  • Wire cutters
  • Tools to help grip/twist the wire
  • Hollow tubing rods glued together with 5 Minute Epoxy.
  • Wood for the base
  • Assortment of spun glass icicle ornaments

Steps

1 | PREPARE
First, cut wire in approximate 5′ lengths. (The thicker the wire, the longer it should be trimmed.)

2| CREATE
Next, locate the center of the wire and begin twisting. We used a pencil to create a loop at the midway point to suspend ornaments from. (You can also string a bead to create a “blossom” tree.) In the same way, repeat this for all strands of wire.

Wrapping wire around a pencil and twisting to create a branch.

3| TWIST
Then take two strands and twist them together a little further. Now repeat this step using all strands, including a third in some for diversity.

Twist two wire pieces together.

4| ASSEMBLE
Continue twisting irregular sections together until you have three basic “big” branches.

Wire branches twisted together to create a branch. (1 of 3.)

5| SECURE
Now isolate a few wires from each main branch and feed them through the hollow rod for added support. (Our rods were three different sizes so we were able to fit 6, 4, and 2.) To clarify, these wires will later become the “roots.”

Feed wire through the hollow tubes of the tree trunk.

6| COVER
Finally, twist the remaining wire from the three main branches in sections covering the rod to create the trunk.

7| FINISH TREE BASE
First, feed the tree trunk into a wood base pre-drilled with a hole and grooves to feed the roots to the outer edge. Next, twist “root” wires from inside rods together some ways, then “branch” off, continuing to twist and trimming ends at desired length.
*Moreover, if you desire to have more roots, you can cut longer sections of wire to begin with or shorten the rods to allow the length of the wire to stretch further. In this case, you would rejoin the trunk wires and those pulled through the rods to create the roots. Or simply add new sections of wire at the base.

Wire from the bottom of the tubes creates tree roots.
Wire Tree

8| ADD ICICLE WILLOWS
Using fish-line, tie icicle ornaments to each wire loop to create weeping willows. As a result, your DIY wire willow tree is complete!

DIY wire willow tree display with Willow Tree collectible figurines by Susan Lordi.
Icicle ornaments pair well with a hand-made wire tree to create a weeping willow.

Willow Tree® Collectibles

Want more? With this in mind, we’ve shared more Willow Tree® display ideas in this past post you’re sure to love!

Willow Tree collectible figurines display ideas.

SPOOKtacular Weeping Willow

What’s more, here’s a twist! Create an eerie version for your Department 56 Halloween village by using a thinner gauge of wire and silver angel hair strands. To note, metal rods are not necessary in this variation. Simply continue twisting the “trunk” wires until they coil into a gnarly display.

Eerie weeping willow wire tree with angel hair.

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