Inspired by Nature

By Adrianna Zampieri

November 6 is Texas State Arbor Day, a day celebrating trees and recognizing the vital role they play in keeping the ecosystem healthy. You can join in the celebration by buying a sapling from a tree nursery and planting it in your yard, or you could use the trees as inspiration for a few DIY projects of your own to bring the spirit of nature into your home.

Rustic Candle Holder

Bring the rustic feel of the outdoors to the indoors with this candle holder. It’s simple and quick to make; you can have tree-inspired decorations adorning your fireplace mantle in no time. You can even take this tutorial a step further and cover a vase with twigs to hold a bundle of wildflowers.

What You Need:

• Candle jar
• Hot glue gun
• Twigs
• Twine

How to Do It:

1. Go outside into your backyard or a nearby park and gather pieces of twigs and small branches.
2. Measure the twigs against your candle jar, cutting them until they are the desired height.
3. Use the hot glue gun to secure the twigs all around the candle jar.
4. Tie a bow around the jar with a piece of twine.
5. Place a candle inside and enjoy the rustic ambiance.

Bird’s Nest Frame

“Not Just a Housewife” had the right idea when she decided to use twigs to create a nature-inspired frame, and the small bird’s nest adds the perfect finishing touch. This is just the right project for those enthusiastic about nature.

What You Need:

• Wooden frame
• Twigs
• Fake moss
• Brown paint
• Paintbrush
• Fake bird eggs
• Hot glue gun

How to Do It:

1. The wooden frame, fake moss, paint, paintbrush, and fake bird eggs can all be purchased at your local Hobby Lobby. The twigs you can find in your own backyard.
2. Paint the frame brown. This will ensure that the parts of the frame that aren’t covered with twigs will not be obvious.
3. Using the glue gun, secure the twigs around the frame. Do not use too much glue because you do not want it to ooze out all over the place.
4. Glue down pieces off moss where desired, then create a bird’s nest out of the moss, which will hold the bird eggs.
5. Glue the bird eggs into the moss nest, and lastly, glue the bird’s nest to the frame.
6. Place a photo inside the frame. Then hang it on the wall, rest it on a bookshelf, or wherever you wish.

Painting All The Sticks

This craft idea from “Small for Big” is one that challenges your imagination and allows your creative juices to flow freely. Not only that, but this activity can be enjoyed by all ages; kids can get their hands dirty splattering twigs with paints, and adults can take a break from the responsibilities of reality to design intricate patterns.

What You Need:

• Twigs
• Paint
• Paintbrushes

How to Do It:

1. Gather interestingly shaped twigs and small branches, dozens of different colors of paint, and a number of paintbrushes.
2. Then get creative! This is a DIY that can go in any direction. Paint them all of the colors of the rainbow, white and maroon for Aggie pride, or red and green in preparation for the winter holiday. Do stripes or swirls or dots or triangles.
3. Once dried, display them around the house; hang them on the wall or stand them up in a vase to be used as the centerpiece for your kitchen table. The possibilities are endless.