Repurposed/Upcycled Christmas Tree From Dried Citrus

Backstory: I moved into my house just a few days before Christmas years ago. I didn't have any furniture, let alone a tree for Christmas. So I wrapped all our moving boxes and stacked them up in a pyramid... and that was our tree that year. That sorta started a tradition. Each year since I've built our tree out of recycled or upcycled materials that I either salvage or already have on hand. I love the idea of giving stuff destined for the landfill some new life before sending them on its way.

This year, 2021, I made the tree from citrus slices. I harvested various citrus from my own trees and from a few public trees in the parks. I sliced them, dehydrated them, strung them, and hung them on a lamp frame I already had lying around. The result is a warm, sepia-toned tree that exudes warmth and sunshine - perfect for SoCal (where I live).

The only new item for this year's construction was a spool of jute twine. Every single other item I either already had in my possession or grew naturally around the property.

Cheers!

Here are some links to previous trees:

Supplies

Obviously, you're gonna need some citrus. I happen to live in SoCal where these trees are basically weeds. LOL. It is still a little early in the season, so they aren't ripe yet. I just went around my yard picking lemons, oranges, grapefruit, etc. I grabbed a few from a neighboring park, too.
A food dehydrator is handy... but you can also do this in the oven.
I picked up a spool of jute or sisal twine from Lowe's. I wanted a home-spun, natural look to the garlands
All I used was a pair of scissors to cut the twine and poke holes in the slices to string them. Not much else is necessary.
I just happened to have a lamp in the shape of a slender pyramid. So I borrowed it for this project. Otherwise I would have had to make a frame.
I used warm white led light strands - just wrapping the frame in them first so the slices would mainly be back lit.

Step 1: Get Pickin' and Washin'

I went around harvesting lemons, oranges, and grapefruit from trees on my property and a neighboring park. All free.
Some were dusty and all were tacky with their own oil. So I recommend washing.

Step 2: Slice, Dry, Repeat

Slice away! Try to keep them thin. No more than 1/4'" or they will take forever to dry.
I have a food dehydrator - Which is key - but is not required.
I also dehydrated in my convection oven and my gas oven. I did 200° for 2-3 hours, rotating and flipping as required. I did some on trays and others right on the racks. The racks work better.
Once dry, I just heaped 'em in a box until ready to string
The amount you need will depend entirely on the size of your tree - but make more than you think you'll need - they go fast.

Step 3: String Theory

My process was to use scissors to poke two holes in the crumbly part of the flesh, just inside the hard peel.
I threaded the sisal twine and tied one end off (so the slices wouldn't migrate)
Then I basically wove them in an over, under pattern filling up about a double arm's-length
I tied off one end of a garland to the frame and then just wrapped the frame - slowly winding up.

Step 4: Trim and Tailor It

Once I reached the top I tied it off.
I used a star from previous years for the top (using zip ties to secure it)
I used cloth ribbon to break up the monochrome and to hide some of the hardware right at the crown of the tree
I spent a little time tucking the LED bulbs behind the slices so that most of them are inside the tree. This way it glows from backlight as well as sparkles from those that you can still see
I placed it on a small circular coffee table to give it some height
I used a piece of earth-toned sequin fabric my wife had as a tree skirt