Years ago my husband traveled with his job, and with him away, there were times I could not sleep at night. I learned a lot of new skills during those times, one of them being woodworking.<\/p>\n
My husband will tell you that it was his worst nightmare when he was all the way across the country and received a call late one night, with me asking, \u201cHow do I turn on this saw in your workshop?\u201d<\/p>\n
Silence on the phone while he tried to gather his thoughts before responding, \u201cWhich saw?\u201d<\/p>\n
Of course, it was the big radial arm saw.<\/p>\n
Looking back, I will tell anyone with no experience with electrical saws, especially a radial arm saw, don\u2019t do this late at night and without some supervision at least on your first couple of attempts at using it. I made it fine, but I can only imagine what I put my husband through with all my late-night endeavors in his workshop.<\/p>\n
And there is also a story I will share with you later about a circular saw. Who knew a saw with a name like \u201ccircular saw\u201d would not be the perfect tool for cutting circles. I didn\u2019t.<\/p>\n
During the time of learning woodwork, one of the things I created was a Lollipop Tree. It has become a family tradition at Christmastime with my kids and now my grands. Because we all love this so much, I am sharing pictures and a few details on how I made what I consider one of the most simple projects during my early days of woodworking.<\/p>\n
It is a delight for guests to find the Lollipop Tree sitting on a table filled with lollipops, Tootsie roll pops, or any type of candy that comes on a stick. Be creative! And please share your project pictures with us when you are finished making your own!<\/p>\n
And above all, please use the power tools with caution and be responsible. If you don’t know how to use them, wait for someone to help you who does!<\/p>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.5″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]
\u2022 3\/4-inch x 1\/2-inch strips of wood. Check with your local home building supply store in the trim department. You can use scrap wood for this as I did, but make sure that you have strips long enough for the pieces you will need to cut according to the measurements needed. You will need 24 pieces at various lengths.<\/p>\n
Cut 4 strips at the following lengths (inches): 14, 12, 10, 8, 6, and 4 inches. (Example: You will need 4 of the 14-inch length strips, etc.) You will also need one 2-inch piece for the top. (Note: I used sandpaper to slightly round the ends of each strip, but this is not needed. Keep it simple!)<\/p>\n
\u2022 Dowel rod, 1\/2 inch diameter, cut to a length of 13-inches<\/p>\n
\u2022 One 6x6x1-inch piece of wood to use as the base with a 9\/16-inch hole drilled in the center<\/p>\n
\u2022 Drill with 9\/16\u2033 and 3\/16\u2033 drill bits<\/p>\n
\u2022 Acrylic paint, satin varnish finish, brushes, and light grit sandpaper<\/p>\n
After all\u00a0pieces are cut,\u00a0paint each piece with acrylic paint. I used a Christmas Green color for my tree.\u00a0Let the paint dry, then lightly sand, then apply\u00a0a second coat of paint. Let\u00a0dry, then rub with a paper towel to remove any grit. Brush on satin varnish and let dry completely.<\/p>\n
When completely dry, measure to find the middle of each piece of your cut strips. Mark your measurement and then drill a 9\/16-inch hole. This is for\u00a0sliding your strips on the dowel rod as you form your tree.<\/p>\n
On each end of the strip, drill a small hole for the candy stick to fit through.<\/p>\n
Place your 6-inch-square base on the table. (Note: In order to protect my table from scratches, I glued a piece of heavy felt to the bottom of the base after the hole was drilled.)<\/p>\n
Place the dowel rod in the hole you drilled in the middle of the base. Begin sliding your cut pieces onto the dowel rod, beginning with the 14-inch lengths and ending with the 2-inch piece at the top. Begin inserting\u00a0lollipops in the holes you drilled on the end of each strip, adjusting the placement of the strips as needed.<\/p>\n
Here are pictures to help guide you through the process of making and displaying your tree!<\/p>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/sandiherron.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/IMG_7319.jpg” alt=”Lollipop tree supplies” title_text=”Lollipop tree supplies” _builder_version=”4.27.5″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_gallery gallery_ids=”2966,2967,2969,2968,2971,2973,2974,2965″ posts_number=”8″ _builder_version=”4.27.5″ _module_preset=”default” min_height=”528px” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_gallery][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Learn how to make a charming Lollipop Tree! Our Lollipop Tree which has become a family tradition at Christmastime with our kids and now our grands. Tutorial includes step by step instructions plus photos …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":17842,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","wprm-recipe-roundup-name":"","wprm-recipe-roundup-description":"","__cvm_playback_settings":[],"__cvm_video_id":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[37,66,195,194],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17833","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arts-crafts","category-christmas","category-christmas-holidays","category-holidays"],"yoast_head":"\n