Thanks to the partnership I have with Discount Tire on this post, I am sharing my recycled tire DIY project for holiday decor and gift inspiration.
Hey everyone! I’m so, so excited to be partnering once again with Discount Tire to share with you a Christmas DIY project that can be made using your old tires! You might remember earlier this year when I teamed up with them to create a gorgeous planter from an old tire. This time I created some fun Christmas decor that you can either keep for yourself, or give as a gift to a friend or neighbor!
Creating a tire project for Christmas is a challenge. I actually enlisted the help of my two boys (ages 7 and 9) to help me brainstorm ideas. I was really quite surprised at the ideas they came up with. We finally agreed and settled on making giant Christmas ornaments. I love when a challenge like this really makes me think outside the box!
I wanted to cover the fronts of the tires, so I grabbed some scrap 1/4″ plywood and traced the tires with a pencil. I then drew a smaller circle inside of that to make the size I needed for the fronts of the tires. I then cut the circles out with my jigsaw.
I applied a bead of Liquid Nails along the edge of the circle and stuck it down on the tire.
I used my staple gun and 1″ staples and stapled around the edge of the plywood into the tire.
I wanted to make sure that nobody poked their fingers on the insides of the tires, so I hammered down the staples, which also prevents them from being pulled out.
The tires needed to be cleaned before I painted them. Ideally, I would have done this before attaching the plywood, but sometimes I work ahead of myself. I used an all-purpose cleaner and a brush to scrub them, then I rinsed them with water and let them dry.
I wanted the “ornaments” to be different colors, so I bought some red, blue and green spray paint. One thing I noticed and feel it’s worth mentioning is that the blue spray paint is a satin sheen and seemed to cover a lot better on the rubber vs. the gloss spray paint. That being said, they all still looked great in the end. It just took a few more coats with the gloss.
To complete the look of the ornaments, I cut out some vinyl stencils on my Silhouette CAMEO (affiliate link). I found all of the designs in the Silhouette Design Store.
I cut out three different stencil designs for the “ornaments.” I sprayed two with white spray paint and then the Christmas tree design was sprayed with green spray paint and then green glitter spray. I was planning to add lights to these, but once they were all finished, I really loved the look of just the painted designs.
To top these ornaments off, I bought galvanized buckets from Michaels. I took the handle off of them and then drilled two small holes into the bottom of the buckets to run wire through for the loops.
I also drilled a 1/4″ hole into the center of the tires for the wire to run through.
I cut some baling wire to form a loop at the top (or bottom depending on how you look at it) of the bucket. I ran the wire through the hole in the tire and then twisted and secured it into place against the inside wall of the tire.
My 7 year old happened to be outside with me while I was making these and offered up his 2 cents A LOT on how they should look. One of his ideas was that each of the ornaments needed an ornament hook. You know, in case you wanted to hang them from a tree. I wouldn’t recommend trying that as these hooks won’t hold the weight of the tire, but I did like the authentic look it gave them. Now that I think about it, though, these would look so neat hanging from a great big tree decked out with Christmas lights. You’d have to do some figuring on how to hang them, but how cool would that be!?
I am seriously in love with how these turned out! I was loving the idea in my head, but still felt nervous about whether or not the idea would come to fruition. Since I’ve finished these, I’ve gotten loads of comments about how cool they look! Imagine how fun these would be to give as a gift at your next ornament exchange! They would definitely be a hit and they’re a perfect way to recycle your old tires when it’s time for a new set from Discount Tire.
Have you ever thought of or made a DIY project with recycled tires? I’d love to see it! Just tag me on Instagram or Facebook with @addicted2diy or use the hashtag #addicted2diy. I’d love to feature your project!
I have never thought of a DIY project with old tires, but this one certainly has me thinking of trying it. These look great! Tell your boys they did a great job with the idea.
These look spectacular ! You and your boys cane up with a truly original idea. You y creative juices flowing. I’m thinking about the hanging them in a tree idea. A tire would be much too heavy for me to handle but a bicycle tier would be much easier . I think the plywood could fit inside of the tire and the follow your example. YUP I think I need to ask my son to help me do a large tire and I will try out 1 or more bike tires for the big tree . Thank you so much for sharing .
That would look so cool! I’d love for you to share your finished pics if you make them!
You are a creative genius!! I never would have guessed thise were old tires!
Thank you so much, Christy!
I have some old tires and was wondering how to get rid of them. Now I’ll be keeping them to do this project in 201 for next year’s reveal. Thank you!
I’d love to see pictures of yours when it’s completed!
This is awesome
I just came across these on craftgossip. They are awesome ! I just love the scale of these Christmas decorations.
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You very clever. You and the boys done a wonderful job.
I have some old garden wagon tires which be awesome to use for this type of project. :}
Totally awesome idea. I have to thank my daughter for sending me your idea. I race cars and always have a lot of worn out tires I have to discard with a recycler. Now i have a bett ue for them. I will plan to make some for next Christmas. Will sen pics when finished. Many thanks for your creativeness.
Thanks so much, Bob! I’d definitely love to see pictures of your “ornaments” when you make some!
These are so awesome!! Terrific idea. I would have to paint my designs on the plywood since I don’t have a vinyl stencil machine. And I’m wondering if old paint cans would work in place of the galvanized buckets…..
I’m sure the cans would be perfect! I didn’t have any of those, so buckets were the easiest route for me.
This is fantastic! I love using these “old tires” as ornaments and what an ecological friendly way to recycle them and use them for years. They look beautiful on your porch. I also liked the planter you shared earlier. So great that we now have spray paint for plastic and rubber!
Hey great job on this project! I loved it so much I made one too. I will make more later in the year this year to go with the one I made. This is for my sister.
Hi Katie! Those are too cute! This is Pili from the blog My Sweet Things and I’m planning to do a roundup post about recycling tires and liked what you did so much! I wanted to ask you permission to use one photo and a link back to your blog if that’s ok.
Thanks, enjoy the rest of the week!
Pili recently posted…Two Uses Tuesday 94
Of course!
Does it matter what condition your tites are in i.e. smooth, worn, or do the just need to be clean?
Nope! I’d steer clear of tires that are torn up, but as far as tread life, you don’t need to worry. Just clean them to get any dirt and grime off of them to help the paint adhere better:)
These are so cute! My husband manages a car dealership and I’m going to show him this for next year!!!
I love this diy I can’t make it this year but definitely will be making them next year thank you for sharing your idea
Love the idea. Thanks for sharing. I will try doing this since I have tires laying around. Merry Christmas.