Last year, I upcycled a coffee mug tree into a tabletop Christmas tree. At the time, I had set aside the remaining “arms” or wood spindles for another project. Well, I’m happy to say that I’m FINALLY upcycling those coffee mug tree arms now. And I’m turning them into wooden spindle ornaments !
Allow me to back up first, though, and refresh your memory. This was the coffee mug tree in question, found at “The Bins”.
Image credit: Sadie Seasongoods.
And this was the tabletop tree I made with the base:
Image credit: Sadie Seasongoods.
But I was still left with the little arms- five of them, to be exact, since one was missing.
Image credit: Sadie Seasongoods.
As you can see, they easily pulled out from the mug tree stand, no tools required.
My plan was simple: Paint the wood spindles and wrap them with colored twine, cord, or string. Pretty easy!
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Wooden Spindles from a Mug Tree Stand
Now that I had the wooden spindles in hand, I was ready to get started!
Image credit: Sadie Seasongoods.
First things first, I needed to remove the very top of each of my wood spindles.
In other words, the peg that actually inserted into the mug tree. I used a small hand saw (similar to this one here) to do the job easily and cleanly.
Image credit: Sadie Seasongoods.
Next, I sanded down the top until it was nice and smooth.
Using my power drill, I made small pilot holes in the center of each of the wood spindles before screwing in a dainty eye screw.
Image credit: Sadie Seasongoods.
Now it was time to paint my wooden spindle ornaments!
Since I had five mug tree arms, I used the following colors: (1) a festive red; (2) a jolly green; (3) a basic white; (4) an antiqued brass; and (5) an aged silver.
Image credit: Sadie Seasongoods.
Hint- this is why I screwed in the eye screws early on. Sure, I’ll need them for hanging my ornaments, but the eye screw gave me something to hold onto during painting!
Decorating the Wooden Spindle Ornaments
Aren’t they looking festive now? You’d never know they came from a coffee mug tree, eh?
Image credit: Sadie Seasongoods.
Once the spindles were painted, I gathered up some braided cord in Christmas colors. You could use any number of things- including larger-scale Baker’s twine, etc.
Image credit: Sadie Seasongoods.
I used my hot glue gun to start and finish the ends of the braided cord. I suppose you could use other glues, but this was a good use of the instantaneous drying power of hot glue!
Image credit: Sadie Seasongoods.
It’s worth mentioning that I REALLY wanted to use a thicker baker’s twine (both red/white and green/white) to turn these wooden spindles into peppermint stick ornaments. But I couldn’t find the right thickness- dainty twine looked weird. Oh, well…
Image credit: Sadie Seasongoods.
Wooden Spindle Ornaments from a Coffee Mug Tree
And that was it- my wooden spindle ornaments from a coffee mug tree were complete and ready to hang on our tree. Even if they weren’t peppermint stick ornaments like I had hoped to create.
Cute enough, though!
Image credit: Sadie Seasongoods.
On my smaller Christmas tree, I simply added an ornament hanger directly to the eye screw. But you could add a loop of coordinating twine or cord to the eye screw to make the ornament longer.
And there you have it- DIY Christmas ornaments from the wood spindles that came from a coffee mug tree!
Image credit: Sadie Seasongoods.
I love the fact that I got TWO projects from a single coffee mug tree- and I paid nearly nothing for it since it came from The Bins.
If you enjoyed this upcycling idea for DIY Christmas ornaments, then you may also be interested in how I upcycled some clear ornaments from the thrift store, too.
Image credit: Sadie Seasongoods.
Plus, my book, “Crafting with Flannel”, also has a chapter dedicated to Christmas projects- with three ornament ideas inside! It’s available to purchase online from Amazon, Target, Barnes & Noble, and Walmart.
Image credit: Sadie Seasongoods.
Craft on!
S
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Image credit: Sadie Seasongoods.
Image credit: Sadie Seasongoods.
Sarah Ramberg is the owner of Sadie Seasongoods, a website that celebrates all things secondhand. From upcycling ideas and thrifted decor to vintage-centric travel itineraries, Sadie Seasongoods is a one-stop shop for anyone who loves thrifting and approachable repurposing ideas. Sarah is also the author of “Crafting with Flannel” and has been featured in numerous media outlets and magazines.
You have a keen eye for repurposing!! These turned out great. The peppermint sticks would have been cute too but these get the job done. I even like the look without the twine. Another project we’ll done girl. 🙂
Thank you so much, Cathi!! I’ll probably always keep an eye out for thicker baker’s twine now, LOL. 😉
Those ornaments are fabulous!!
Thank you, thank you!
You did it again. What an adorable way to use those pegs from the mug tree.
Thank you so very much, Rita!
So cute and very creative, both projects! Keep up the good work.
Thanks, Mary!
Brilliant! These make such cute ornaments! Love the bright colors with the colored twine! <3
Thank you so much, Linda!
I wish we were neighbors. I’ve got a small skein of thick red and white yarn that would have been just perfect! I’ve used it for several projects already this season and hope it lasts forever! Great job. i’m gonna keep my eye out for spindles now!
Sarah, I have a bucket of old chair spindles I’ve been wanting to do something with for the holidays. I too wanted to turn mine in ornaments but do more than just painting them in festive colors. Then I saw yours and thought, “dang, why didn’t I think of that”! Wrapping them with cording is exactly what sets yours apart from the others – love love love them!
Thank you, thank you, thank you!!! I hope to see yours when you’re done!!!