Wood stick crafts from our backyard maple tree

DIY Project, , , , , ,

In April my husband decided to chop down one of our backyard trees in order to give our boy more soccer practice space. It was a small maple tree. By small I mean we can handle it ourselves. Therefore, we got a lot of branches. I get a little excited about all those wood sticks. They makes me want to do some crafts in no time.

Tree part

Root and stump
Top part thin branch
Medium size branch
Branch pile
Thicker part of branch

Idea part

I look through Pinterest for two days and collect some ideas that I like.

Making part

Then I start to pick materials from the medium size branch pile. It was raining for weeks so I had to let them dry in garage for couple of days. I use a military knife to peel these sticks and saw them into proper length. After sanding them smoothly I seal the wood with boiled linseed oil. The wood itself has gorgeous white base so I don’t want to stain it with other color.

Unpeeled wood sticks on left/Unfinished wood sticks on right/The bottom part of the stick in middle is fully sanded but without linseed oil

The cutting, peeling and sanding get dusty. But I can’t wait to make something. The first one I made is a décor for our front door. I use the macramé ropes. These ropes are purchased long time ago for my Tibetan style prayer wheel project. Therefore they are in red, yellow, white, blue, green and black. The second one is smaller. The pattern is burned on it. I want to make it a little tribe feeling. When I look for a pendant for the tail part I find the bone ring I made when I was in Atlanta, GA. The bone pendant is a perfect fit!

Actually I save a box of cow bone pieces. I bought cow bones from local market for soup back then. After removing all tissue by slow cooker, those bones look nice and sleek. So I save them. I just don’t have a proper tool to cut them into small pieces so I can make bone pendant.

Image gallery image

Right now I am working on two hiking sticks for my kids. I also want to make some wood stick frames, macramé sticks, wood stick fishes and more. A lot to do, haha.

I hope you enjoy these little crafts.

Thank you.

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My paintings are an outlet to express the imagination I have inside my head that I can not put into words. After trying many mediums, I always find myself coming back to paint and brushes. In my current artistic practice, I use oil paint and mainly create portraits of mythical creatures and animals transfixed in the shifting colours of seascapes and landscapes. There is a natural spirit and magic to these creatures and their energy draws me in. Choosing to paint these creatures as real living wildlife rather than abstractions, I use bold and vivid colours to express the imaginary intertwined with reality, finding magic between the seams. Using a saturated colour palette, I create bold and striking imagery, contrasted between foreground and background, subject and landscape, and light and darkness. Weaving their bodies and the surface of the landscape into each other through organic forms and flowing brush strokes, I find beauty, strength and innocence in these creatures that reflect my inner world.