Sticky Decor

I recently wrote about blogs that I have been enjoying and on one of those, art bar blog, I saw an idea I have been wanting to attempt.  Here is the picture that sparked my interest.

I have also mentioned that we have an ongoing project to clear our garden and last week we cut down an overgrown bush providing me with lots of branches.  I didn't want to do exactly the same as I know how time consuming weaving  can be but then also looked on pinterest for additional ideas such as these wrapped sticks but I had a few ideas of other bits to add too.  I decided to begin by painting my stick, then wrap the stick in colourful wool.

I had chosen a branch which had a fork so that I could do a little weaving and so stretched some wool horizontally across the forked space. I then plaited purple and green wool and weaved it through going vertically from top to bottom.  After a few of these I threaded some beads through too to give it extra dimension.  I then decided to add some extra rows of green and purple wool horizontally to weave some more yellow wool through to add some brighter colour to it.  I then wrapped some more of the stick in the remaining yellow to tie the colours together.

What twig is complete without a few leaves? I recently bought some Fat Quarters from a beautiful local shop stitch45 and thought it would make a great coordinating leaf.  I cut out the shape freehand and wadded it a little before sewing the front and back pieces together and part way up the middle to define the 'leafiness'. I chose additional fabric from my stash and made 2 more leaves.  I used 3 strands of yarn and old friendship bracelet making skills to create an aesthetically pleasing hanging loop for the leaves.

 After rediscovering my gold paint during the melted wax project, I decided that my twig could only be improved with a little gold splashed about a bit.  I settled on stripes and spots mostly which began to give my twig an Aztec bohemian feel.

I left it to dry overnight before adding my hanging leaves and placed it into a hurricane jar with some purple string beads.  I've not found a final home for it but was impressed with how well, (unintentionally) it went with the melted crayon canvas.

I've had a busy week with visitors and catching up with friends that has been really lovely but has left me a little drained in the evenings.  My husband has more responsibility with work which has kept him busy in the evenings with admin and thus afforded me the chance for more opportunities to make things including a paper family tree using coordinating paper with my lettter 'F' art.

It now hangs on my display wall which has also had a few more additions since I last photographed it.  There's still space to expand and grow as our family does.  The photo frames are nearly all Ikea; clock was from Homesense; the mirror was an auction find; the circular mirror tile was from Laura Ashley and the coral birdie frames were gifts from my husband a few weeks ago from sass and belle.