Social - December 2003

Tree tinkering turns to tradition for hobbyist

By DIANE TURBYFILL, Staff Writer

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The living room twinkles — illuminated by little lights from more than 20 trees.

Doris Johannessen’s Christmas spirit lingers year-round, nestled in the branches of her miniature trees.

“I just make a tree for any occasion,” she says. “I like to stuff it full.”

Johannessen uses her eye for design to create trees of all themes — weddings, babies and sports. Trees are filled with ribbons, lights and different items from miniature China to plastic fruit.

Johannessen says she has as much fun choosing the stands as she does decorating the trees. Some sit in vases while others are supported in coffee mugs and ceramic pots.

She spends a considerable amount of time arranging and rearranging her creations. Johannessen starts with the lights then moves on to the decorations. Once everything is in place she pulls out every craftsman’s tool of the trade, a hot glue gun.

The decorator then puts on her finishing touch.

“I put some kind of bird on every tree,” she says. “It’s my trademark.”

She uses her creativity and love of shopping to aid in her creations.

“I go crazy when I go shopping,” she says.

She says she can shop for hours in hobby shops like Michaels.

Her trees range in size from 12” to four feet and cost from $30 to $120.

Johannessen has been decorating miniature trees for six years, though she wasn’t able to work on her creations last year.

She was diagnosed with cancer last year. A series of chemotherapy and radiation treatments put her out of commission for a while.

This season she’s cancer free and happy to be back at work.

Johannessen’s trees can be found all about town. She currently has trees displayed at Morgan’s Dairy Bar and her daughter’s work, Anna Lisa’s Beauty Salon.

The living room of her Old Lake Home is filled with signs of her hobby. She recently held an open house to showcase her works.

Johannessen says the changing of the seasons won’t deter her craft. She’ll continue to collect decorations and create special order items throughout the year.

She says working on the trees gives her an added energy — often staying up until all hours of the night.

“It gets me wound up,” she says. “I just really enjoy it.”

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For more information about Doris Johannessen’s designer trees, call 704-735-7610.

© 2001 Lincoln Times-News  

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