Tree to Giraffe

Intro: Tree to Giraffe

We have an untamed (never been pruned) Mock Orange tree that grows beside our front porch.

One day when I was looking at it, I saw a piece of it that resembled the body and legs of an upside down giraffe.

My youngest daughter Jen loves giraffes so I had an idea for what I could make her for Christmas.

STEP 1: Materials

Mock Orange bush

Inspiration and vision

Hand saw and a drill

1 wooden dowel

wood glue

Rubber tipped chair legs x 4

STEP 2: Construction

I cut the part of the tree I needed earlier in the fall.

One of the pieces that I had to prune to get the body part out, would work perfectly as the giraffe's head(with a bit of imagination).

I drilled a hole 1/2" deep in the long part of the giraffe's neck, drilled a corresponding hole (1/4" deep) in the head part. I then inserted the dowel in the neck part.

On the head part I trimmed one branch stub that would be about where the right eye is and glued it on the left side so that it looks like its other eye.

The head then goes on the dowel sticking out of the neck, I didn't glue it so the head could be rotated depending what the giraffe wanted to look at.

I put the rubber leg tips on the legs.

STEP 3: Finish and Selfies

I thought it would be fun to take some selfies of the giraffe in my back yard since we were having very warm weather on December 24'th.

The giraffe is checking out the bird feeder, the bird bath, the metal butterfly on the side of the house and the metal cat on the deck railing.

Comments

[3366carlos]

very creative, I need a tree like that. I want to make me a walking stick about 6 feet high and 3 inches in diameter.

[john pedersen]

Thanks again 3366carlos, keep looking, when you're out for a walk or a drive, I've one piece of wood that came from a tree limb that broke off in a wind storm.