Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Getting Twiggy with It

 Well good grief, kids!  It has been a while but I'm optimistically saying that, I'm back!  That's right, I'm making an effort to get back to my old "the glass is half full" mantra of old.  Things have been pretty busy and I have tons to share with all of my sweet friends out there!  Let's start with this little project I did back in the fall.  Here's a teaser...


The story of the this weathered branch is pretty funny and just seeing this object in my house brings me great joy due to the way it arrived in our possession.  A couple years ago we were at the lake with my folks and spotted this tree that had surfaced when Lake Texoma was way down.  I had told my dad how I had seen places like West Elm and Urban Outfitters selling pieces of driftwood for a pretty penny.  After pondering this he said that he could snag me a choice piece for no pretty pennies!  

With determination on his face and mission in mind he shimmied up the dead tree (he was surprisingly agile) and began pushing and jumping on a good looking branch.  You and I can both see where this is going, right?  With a loud "crack" the branch fell free.  As did my dad.  No worries, kids, he ninja-rolled out of this fall and shot up ten feet down the beach in victory!  And I got to go home with this killer piece of driftwood.  This is what it looked like in our last house.  Enjoy this extra dark pic, yeesh. 


As you can see it was a little lackluster.  We did eventually mount it on the wall with D rings but it still left much to be desired.  And what could be more desirable than a golden staff?  Scratch that, golden rod?  I give up, there is no way to describe it with out sounding grossly inappropriate.  (Insert your own gold member joke here)

Here is how I did it:  When using a piece of "found in nature" branches in your house it is a good idea to let it bake in the sun for a few days to make sure that a) it is completely dried out and b) that there are no critters inhabiting it.  Next, I threw it on a piece of cardboard in the backyard.  When using spray paint make sure that you wear a mask, protective glasses and do it in a well ventilated area.  
  

Woody...

I used one of my favorite spray paints from the Rust-Oleum "Metallic" collection in Gloss Gold.  The idea to paint it gold came to me while staying at a friend's amazing apartment.  She had this fabulous, gold, chunky piece of driftwood sitting on a credenza in her bedroom.  Too cool.
 


The paint looked great and gave the driftwood more character and presence on the wall.  The light from the lamps up-light the piece at night, which makes me giddy.  Don't judge me, I'm easily giddied.




Oh and don't mind all of the dates on the photos.  Somehow my camera is stuck on the feature and won't let me remove them...anyone know how to fix this little problem?  It's a Cannon.  Happy Tuesday!

4 comments:

scribbler said...

It's a fabulous piece of decor, made creatively at home. Well done :)

de'craft Admin said...

it's a unique piece of decoration, creative idea too!!

ANDYSTYLE said...

cool :)


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Unknown said...

Ole, ole y ole!!! vaya arte!!!
Enhorabuena por tu trabajo y creatividad!!!
Saludos desde Andalucia!!!
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