I’m trying to be patient for spring to come but its just early March and it snowed all day….sigh.
Fortunately, I am hoarding craft supplies…including driftwood from trips to the shores last year. So let’s put it together for another rustic, nature craft.
Gather your supplies.
You will need:
- Driftwood
- Wood Slice or Stones
- Wood Scrap
- Wood Stain
- Rag and Gloves
- Eye Hooks
- Twine
Start by finding a scrap piece of lumber that will match the size of your driftwood. Lay out your pieces of driftwood to arrange them and make sure they fit! My board is 9 x 18 inches (23 x 46 cms) and its a pretty good match for my driftwood pieces.
As always, I used my little pot of Miniwax Jacobean stain. I love this dark shade.
Apply with a rag or brush in the directions of the grain. Allow the wood to dry according to the instructions. My stain can says to wait 8 hours before applying a clear polyurethane. I didn’t add a clear coat because I like the mat finish.
Here I am playing with the driftwood while the stain dries. I’m so impatient.
Now that its dry you should decide on how your going to hang the sign up.
Hang it like a picture?
Or like a sign with screw eyes and a bit of twine or jute rope? I’ve used the above options on several projects.
Now the stain is dry and I can pull it all together. I found some blue glass stones? Hmmmm. Tempting to use them but I wanted to have this look natural.
I also like the wood slice for the “O”. That is natural.
But after deliberations, I settled on small pebbles in the shape of a heart.
You can use your hot glue gun to attach the pieces to the wood. I might put this on the craft sale table at work so I used E6000 glue which is a very stinky permanent adhesive glue that will not pop off like hot glue can when it gets moved. Crack a window or work in your garage…it’s pretty strong smelling stuff.
And that is all there is to it!
Here are some other similar projects I have posted you might like….
Yarn Wrapped Sticks – Easy Spring Craft
Want to add some spring colours to your home? Why not try wrapping yarn around some sticks?
Part of my inspiration:
Have you heard of yarn bombing? If you haven’t you really should google it. It’s hilariously amazing! People are knitting or crocheting a sort of non permanent graffiti. You might find a park bench, bike, phone booth or a tree that is literally wearing a perfectly fitting, bright coloured sweater! Sometimes the crafter that does it wants to make a point and sometimes it just adding color to something grey and sterile like a light post.
https://algarveblog.net/2014/05/05/yarn-bombing-in-portimao/
Here is just one cheery photo so you can see what I mean!
Anyhoo the photos people have posted make me so happy but I can’t knit or crochet ask my friends Lana and Gen who just attempted to teach me how-they were patient but it didn’t take I’m afraid. Someday I will give it another try but for now here is my happy alternative.
It’s so easy and cheerful you are going to love this craft idea!
You will need:
- sticks
- yarn
- hot glue (optional)
- scissors
- vase
If you love your hot glue gun (as much as I do) start by adding a dab of glue to secure the end of the yarn.
If you don’t want to use hot glue then just tie a loop around the end of the stick and tuck the tail in-as you wind the yarn around the stick.
I really love the yarn that transitions the colours as you go. Its very smooth looking and only need to deal with the end at the beginning and the end.
If you don’t have yarn on hand that transitions you can use several colors and just change them as you get an inch down the branch.
When you are done just snip the stray ends.
When you get to a split in the twig’s branches continue down one side and then go back to complete the other stems.
Using drift wood is even easier to manage.
This took my 11 year old daughter and I an hour to do all of the sticks in the vase. We both enjoyed doing this. It was kind of an easy, soothing craft. It made a great mother daughter moment to stop and talk about things on our minds.
The results are very cheery decorative sticks with springtime colors that will go on a shelf or mantle.
Have a look at the other crafts linked below. I seem to enjoy the stick/twig projects. Mostly because they are free-out of the garden and something always need trimming.
Happy crafting!
Pebble Art – A Snuggling Couple
I got a nice collection of flat rocks when the weather was warmer. When you start becoming a beach pebble collector its hard to stop. Even now, although its freezing rain I still would love to escape to the beach…an hour drive away…to look for my favorite shapes of stones (hearts, ovals, circles). So I’ve stained a few small boards to turn them into Pebble Art.
I’ll show you what I made this time….
What you will need:
- 2 long pebbles
- 2 round pebbles
- small piece of drift wood
- red and yellow felt
- a twig
- a scrap of stained board or a plain canvas
- hot glue gun or E6000 glue
These two long rocks fit together perfectly for the bodies. Two round stones on top for the heads. A small piece of driftwood for them to sit on. Glue everything in place. You can stop with just these natural items or keep going to add some colour.
Here I took an inch of red felt and folded it in half and cut the shape of half a heart. I find this is the best way to get your heart shape. If I try to cut it freehand it turns out lopsided.
Trace a tin can from your pantry to make a felt round sun. Put a twig on the side and now its done.
Now it’s a couple having a snuggle at the beach, watching the sunset. Although, my 8 year old would like it to be a mother and daughter. Awe she is snuggler. I better make her one for her room!
Thanks for reading another one of my easy crafts….Have a look below for links to some of my other “Pebble Art” projects.
…
