Sea Glass Christmas Tree

Hi friends! We’re excited to share this beach-inspired DIY sea glass Christmas tree craft using your sea glass collection that you’ll want to display every holiday season.

Collecting sea glass with the kids is one of our favorite things to do when we’re at the cottage. Technically, it’s called beach glass since we’re at the lake (and not the sea) but we’ve gotten accustomed to saying sea glass over the years. Each of the kids takes a little baggie with them to hold all their finds until they can sort them by color when they return home. We could undoubtedly walk for hours combing the beach for treasures.

We love the way these sea glass Christmas trees turned out. They are cute and fun with the starfish topper but also elegant with all the natural glass. For other ways to use your sea glass collection, consider making a pretty macrame seaglass necklace or seaglass planter or even simply add them loosely in a beach-themed terrarium.

Materials needed to make a Sea Glass Christmas Tree:

• Sea glass in assorted shapes, sizes, and colors
• Paper Mache Cardboard Cones, 7” high, set of 2
• Starfish embellishments (1 for each tree)
• Toothpicks (1 for each tree)
• Hot glue gun with clear glue sticks
• Americana Acrylics in snow white
• ¾” flat paintbrush
• Awl or other sharp-pointed tool

Preparing the Cones:

Poke a hole through the top of the cone using a sharp-pointed tool such as an awl or a wooden skewer. The toothpick is likely not strong enough to break through the paper mache.

To alter the size of the cones so the trees are at differing heights, simply cut off some of the height at the bottom of one of the cones. Wrap a piece of scotch tape approximately ¾” from the base. Using a utility knife or a good pair of scissors, cut along the taped edge to reduce the height of the cone. Remove the tape before moving on.

Preparing the Star Topper:

Turn the starfish embellishments with the backside facing up.
Apply a dab of glue to the backside of the starfish and place one of the painted toothpicks down on top so one end hangs past the starfish. Hold the toothpick in place until the glue sets. Put aside for the time being.

Applying the Sea Glass:

If you’re using actual sea glass collected at the beach, be sure to thoroughly wash and dry it before gluing.
Preheat the hot glue gun and remember to work quickly as the glue from the glue gun sets quickly but work carefully to avoid injury from the hot glue.

For this first Christmas tree, we used only green glass. Starting at the base of the cone, apply a dab of glue as shown and press one piece of sea glass over the glue. Don’t extend the sea glass past the base of the cone. Continue around the rim of the cone gluing one piece of glass at a time.

For the second row, overlap the bottom edge of the pieces with the top each of the sea glass from the previous row.

Continue working one sea glass at a time and one row at a time.

Work your way up to the top of the cone, using different sizes and colors.

At the top, avoid covering the hole you made earlier with glue or glass. 

For our second Christmas tree, we used a mix of white, green and blue glass but you can use any combination of sea glass you like.

Finishing the Sea Glass Christmas Tree:

Once the glue has fully set, clean off any loose glue strands. Lastly, place the star on the top of each tree by inserting the end of the toothpick into the hole at the top of the cone.

How do you like to display your sea glass collection?

Speaking of Christmas trees, we have another adorable tree craft we think you’d love. These Wood Slice Trees are super easy to make using foam cones and rustic wood slices! 

Lastly, for those of you with a coastal themed home, this Coastal Branch Tree for Christmas is the perfect addition to your beach themed holiday decor!