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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.
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.
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!
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.
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.