Easy Twig Wreath

We have a mature weeping birch in our front yard.  It drops lots of long, thin, flexible twigs, especially after a storm.


I was sitting in the front while the kids played in the little plastic sandbox and decided to make a wreath.

I gathered a bunch of the longer more flexible strands into a pile.  I wrapped a couple to form a circle and secured it with a bit of thin wire.  I used small pieces of wire to add more twigs to the circle, making it rounder and fuller.

After awhile, I started wrapping small bundles of long, flexible twigs around the wreath, tucked in the loose ends, and secured anything that wouldn't stay with a little more wire.

Once it was thick enough, my attention span was shot, or the kids needed me (I forget which happened first), I hung the wreath on the door with a little more wire.

Comments

[valhallas_end]

Very nice. I would add a warning, though - to anyone who wants to make these, make sure you know what type of branches you harvest for materials, and what other plants are near them. My brothers and I made these wreaths for my mom when we were little (probably 5 or 6 at the oldest), but we used some vines we found in the woods right by our house. The area we picked from had never had, and has never again had, poison ivy grow there, but we managed to harvest during the only outbreak that clearing has ever witnessed (even though NO poison ivy was evident - we had suffered it before and knew what plants to avoid...). The three of us were down with horrible rashes for about 18 days...

Not to spook anyone from doing this, of course...but if you do, either be really, really careful, or buy fake/real branches from a craft store.

Nice project, though, supersoftdrink. These look great - kudos!

[supersoftdrink]

Ooh, yes, thanks for the warning. That sounds awful and I hope you guys never get those rashes again. Hopefully your post will save others from that discomfort.

There are lots of these weeping birch trees in the city we live in, and people who live near us could easily gather them from the grassy plots between the sidewalk and the road. They're such great, flexible branches, and I hate to see them go to waste. Technically, being turned into mulch isn't waste, but these in particular are really neat for making things.

[valhallas_end]

Heh, that was...nearly 20 years ago now, and I still remember it...vividly. Fun times...

I like using birch wood for projects - it's pretty strong, but remains springy no matter how much you wet or dry the wood. The trees look fantastic, too - I wish we could grow one in our yard.

[porcupinemamma]

This is really lovely! So glad you shared with us! Thanks! The last time I sat with my kids in the sandbox was about 29 years ago, (gulp) but first, I first had to do search and rescues for toy trucks and shovels MIA ;0)