.This post will show you how to build your own DIY wooden snowflake shelf!
I love seasonal DIYs–and I also love snow. And I also love easy weekend projects. SOOOOO, this DIY snowflake shelf checks all the boxes and makes for the perfect little Christmas project!
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This project was inspired by Jaime Costiglio’s Christmas tree shelf . I really loved the idea, but wanted something a little different. So I made a SNOWFLAKE shelf instead.
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I looked on Pinterest before building to make sure no one had already had this idea haha. I found nothing, so I was good to go 🙂 (As a side note, this project has been copied multiple times since I made it back in 2015, so take note–mine was the original 😉 )
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The build was pretty simple. The hardest part was getting the nail gun into all the weird angles. FYI keep in mind that everything was glued and nailed (no screws). While this will hold a significant amount of weight, it is not a good idea to weigh it down with heavy items.
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The size is fairly easy to modify, but mine was about 35″ in diameter.
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For this DIY Snowflake Shelf, You will need:
- 18+ feet of 1×4 (I used about 18 feet of lumber, but you may want to get a little more in case you make a mistake in cutting)
- Nail gun (nails no longer than 1 1/2″)
- Glue
- Miter saw
- Clamp (optional)
Step 1: Assemble Main Frame of DIY Snowflake Shelf
I cut a piece of 1×4 at 35″ long and 4 pieces of 1×4 at 17″ long (at the longest point) with a 30 degree bevel on one end.
Then, I attached two of the 17″ pieces to the center of the 35″ piece with the nail gun and glue.
The first two will be easy to nail, but with the other two, it’s hard to get the gun into the angles. Glue them to the other side of the 35″ piece and shoot a few nails in as best you can.
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Clamp like the picture below to hold it tight in place until the glue dries.
Step 2: Cut and Assemble Snowflake Points
While the glue dries on the main frame of the snowflake shelf, I cut 12 pieces with 30 degree bevels on each end parallel to each other. These pieces should be six inches long.
I paired these pieces and glued and nailed them together like the picture below.
Step 3: Attach Snowflake Triangles to Main Frame of Shelf
Once the glue had dried, I attached these triangles to the main body of the snowflake from step 1. Again, I used both glue and nails.
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Sometimes the angles will be difficult to get the nail gun into, but it is doable. Make sure you use plenty of glue in case your nails do not hold very well.
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Add the triangles one at a time around the flake.
Step 4: Add Final Details on End of Shelf Frame
While that glue was drying, I cut 12 pieces 3 1/2″ long (at the longest point) with a 30 degree bevel on one end.
I attached these pieces to the end of each flake “arm” like the picture below. Again, I used both glue and nails.
I let the glue dry well before hanging. You could paint or stain (if you didn’t get glue everywhere while you were making it haha), but I liked mine natural.
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I tied twine around mine to hang, but you could use ribbon or use picture frame hangers to hang yours.
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You can decorate however you would like. I kept it simple and used ornaments, pine cones, and fake gift boxes.
It’s kind of a beast…I could have stood to make it a little smaller, but whatever….it’s big enough to make a statement, right? haha.
Look at all those angles!! Don’t be intimidated. Angles never hurt anyone 🙂
So what do you think of the GIANT wooden snowflake shelf?? If you wanted a deeper one, you could use a 1×6 or 1×8 (although that would be much heavier). If you make one yourself, I’d love to see your pictures!
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Don’t forget to pin for later!
NOTE: As with any plans/tutorials on the site, I am happy to provide tutorials and inspire you to create your own wood crafts and furniture. However, please be respectful of the time that was put into creating and writing these instructions and ask permission before making these projects to sell for profit.
Made this tonight. Yours looks great, mine not so much. The Ryobi brad nailer does not fit, at all. The very center is not pretty on mine – nails everywhere even after pulling a bunch of half sunk ones! Not sure how sturdy it will be. Like the concept, may try again on a larger model. Thanks for sharing.
Oh yes the Ryobi nailer is much larger than my bostitch nail gun. But, the glue should help keep it fairly sturdy even if all the nails didn’t sink as well as you’d liked.
Love it. Just finished a slightly smaller one for my wife. One tip I found is to use a stop block on your miter saw when cutting the pieces for the inner triangles, then once you glue and nail each half of the point together, take them back to the miter saw with the stop block still in place and cut the long end to match. This is a simple step that eliminates having to cut some boards to a different length and aligns the points to the center to look better. Thanks for the guide and inspiration!
Great tips! Thank you for sharing!
I am not following why you chose to make 30 degree cuts on both sides of the pieces that form the star and then join them the way you did to where one side is longer than the other as this causes the points not to be even or centered opposite the angle of the cross bars. Was this intentional or an oversight?
It was intentional. You could cut six of the pieces shorter if you wish. I just cut the this way because it made it faster to cut them all the same length and it made it easy to join them at the tip. Plus, my miter saw isn’t capable of cutting them at 60 degrees to join them evenly at the tip.