Make a DIY Faux Olive Tree for Less

The faux plant trend is continuing this week (see some of my favorite spring florals here!) with a tutorial even I didn't think would turn out that great! 😂 I have wanted a tallish plant for the basement for sometime -- we do get a good amount of daylight down there, but not enough that I could keep something alive. 

I have real fiddle leaf figs all over our house (see my tips for taking care of fiddles here) so I wanted something different. I started searching fake olive trees instead, but found they are pretty expensive. The best version (with good reviews) I found was $115. 

As I was searching online, I came across tutorials for a fake, do-it-yourself olive tree. Huh. I never even considered it, but it got my mind going. I figured I would take one for the team and try it out -- not really expecting it to look that great.

But you have to try, right? I combined tips for this faux olive tree project from here and here -- they both had great tutorials that helped a ton. Keep in mind this DIY was REALLY worth it because I got all of my supplies at half the cost. Look for sales and use coupons! 

Step one: Figure out your trunk

I started with the "trunk" of the tree. I could have easily gone and cut a thick branch off of a tree. I was going to do that, but then I realized how cold and snowy it was outside. I didn't want to get my boots on and go forage in the woods. Cold. Snow. Wah. 

So instead I check out the "dried naturals" section at the craft store. They had actual (thin) wood trunks, which cracked me up that we can buy part of a tree at the store. But I wanted something that looked a little more natural and organic than just a straight branch. 

I figured those white branches on the left would be perfect: 

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The package came with three branches (for MORE olive trees obvs) and I used the biggest one. I spray painted it brown...and was surprised when it looked real. You can use any brown paint -- craft paint even. I would suggest you use a matte finish for a realistic look.

Step two: Attach your olive stems

I already had olive stems that I use throughout the year in our decor, so I didn't want to use those. Instead I grabbed bundles of the olive branches instead: 

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