Mini A-Frame Alternative Christmas Tree

text by Vicki     Sign up to get Mother Daughter Projects updates in your email!

This post is sponsored by Surebonder.

It's rare, but sometimes a project idea comes together just as the idea was imagined. This little mini ladder "tree" was that kind of project!

I find a lot of inspiration from the products and materials we use. When tasked with the question, "How can I use this," the ideas just seem to flow. That was the case when we were contacted by Surebonder to try out their hot glue gun and adhesive products for this post. 

Actually, what really intrigued me while going through their catalogue of products on their website, were the various adhesives they offer. I, perhaps like many of you, thought glue sticks were kind of like "one size fits all." 

Well, when I discovered the Wood Stik product, it got me to thinking about making a woodworking project with nothing but glue, rather than nails and screws. One thing led to another and we decided to make a "nail free" mini version of our ladder, alternative Christmas tree. 

If you've ever wanted to take a step into working with wood, this is the perfect beginner project. Take a look at how our mini tree came together! 

​You can also check out our project on the Surebonder blog here.

The materials used are readily available wood from The Home Depot. You can see the exact wood we used in the materials list below. We are using the Surebonder battery powered glue gun, with two types of adhesive sticks as well as multi-tool to cut the wood (but a hand saw and miter box would easily work). That green thing is a 19" x 19" Surebonder silicone pad. Hot glue does not stick to it. I would totally recommend picking one up for hot glue as well as standard glueing projects.

Materials:

• Surebonder 60 Watt 18 Volt Cordless Full Size Glue Gun (Surebonder)
• 
  
• Silicone Glue Gun Pad - 19" x 19" (Surebonder)
• 
  
• Acrylic Tough Hot Glue Sticks Full Size 10" - 8 Pack (Surebonder)
• 
  
• Wood Hot Glue Sticks Full Size 4" - 12 Pack (Surebonder)
• 
  
• (1) 1/4” x 2” x 3’ poplar board (Home Depot)
• 
  
• (3) 3/8 in. x 3/8 in. x 36 in. Square Dowel (Home Depot)
• 
  
• Small craft hinge
• 
  
• Multi-tool with wood cutting blade or hand saw and miter box
• 
  

Here I'm cutting (4) 14" long legs from the wood dowels. I'll also cut (8) 2 1/2" pieces for the cross bars. The multi-tool is fitted with a wood cutting blade. Clamping the wood to a surface makes this task much easier.

Once cut, I sanded the ends and sides to smooth out any rough edges. Tip: stand all the pieces up. If needed, sand the legs to be sure they are all equal in length.

Here I'm marking the length of each of the three shelves and again using the multi-tool to cut them to length. The shelves are 9, 7, and 5 inches.

Here's everything cut and ready. We did actually go back and cut two more cross bars as we initially miscounted the number needed. Lightly sand everything before moving on.

This is a cutting tool that is really handy for small pieces of wood like we are using. It's a mini miter box. If you search Exacto miter box, you'll be able to see a variety that are sold by different brands. With this handy tool, no power cutting tools are necessary. It's a bit more work, but very doable.

The square dowels are especially easy to cut with this little mini miter box.

Let's talk a little about this Surebonder hot glue gun. First off, it is battery powered. It is designed to run on the Ryobi 18 V battery platform. If you already have Ryobi batteries, this will run on those. It is sold with or without the batteries.

Here I've laid out the pieces to start glueing everything into place. I'm using the shelves, temporarily, to keep the spacing.

See that green tip? That insulates the tip to help prevent burns. In the time I was testing the glue guns, I never burned myself once (and I'm someone who has given myself 3rd degree hot glue gun burns in the past). I think that insulated tip has a lot to do with keeping the user safer!

I'm using the Wood Stik adhesive on this project. It's made for wood projects.

To attach the hinge, I used Surebonder Tough Stik. Note: I ended up taking this hinge off and using a different one. To help it stick, I lightly sanded the back of the hinge with 60 grit paper to help it adhere well. So far it is holding, but if it doesn't, I will use the screws provided with the hinge to secure it more fully.

Here it is just prior to painting. The frame was painted with Rust-Oleum chalked paint in gray and the shelves were spray painted with oil rubbed bronze.

It was such fun to accessorize with mini ornaments!

---

The little mini ladder tree is actually sitting on one of the shelves of our full-size ladder tree!

Like us, you're probably never heard of Surebonder or have even thought about the differences in glue guns and the glue sticks you are using. I invite you to explore their website to spark your imagination with all the various adhesive and products they offer. 

Not only are we happy with their products, but there's an actual family that owns the company! We LOVE that! Products are made in the USA in Illinois. 

Please note: This post is sponsored by Surebonder. We received product and compensation for this project. All thoughts and opinions are our own.

FYI: We are not professionals, and we don’t claim to be. This is what we found worked for our project. Yours may need a little different approach. Safety first!

FYI: Affiliate links are being used on this page. Purchasing via these links help support MDP!

---

Related Projects

Green Bottle Christmas Tree

DIY A-Frame Display Shelf

Simple Plywood Shelf