Birch Covered Picture Frame

     Over the Memorial Day weekend we spent a day up in Ludington State Park. Its a gorgeous park  with lots of trails, lakes, a river, fishing spots, a dam & waterfall, and many other beautiful features. Its definitely a favorite place for our family to go! While we were there I spotted a few birch trees that had been chopped down with its beautiful bark peeling off and lying on the ground around it. {I know you are supposed to pick flowers in a state park but how about random bits of bark just lying around?} Somehow { ;) } they managed to make their way into my beach bag! I love them for their colors and for their texture. I knew I had to find a way to incorporate these beauties into my homey home!

Check out the gorgeousness!

     It didn't take long for me to decide what to do with them! Check out the result:

      If you want to make one yourself, here's what you'll need:

{Not pictured yet are the 47,000 clamps I used to hold the bark in place while it all dried!}

The first step in doing this project is to get your bark flat. I soaked my bark in the sink for a couple of hours until it was really pliable. Then I laid the pieces out on the counter and held the flat with heaving drinking glasses overnight so they could dry.

     Once everything was dry I cut my bark to line up with the mitered edges of the picture frame. I initially used this carpet knife but found that regular scissors worked more easily and gave me more precision with my cutting.

     Glue each piece as they are cut and hold them in place with clamps, chip clips, binder clips or whatever else you might have on hand!  ;)   I needed far more of these clamps than I initially thought!

     Each of the bark pieces were adhered using generous amounts of wood glue. Once I had the major players on board I went back and used a few scraps to fill in some of the holes or gaps I ended up with. Even though it isn't perfect I love the end result!

     The little cutie in the picture is my nephew, Elijah Praise, who died over 7 years ago from a rare genetic disorder. Because of the sacrifice of his older sister who died of the same thing at birth, the doctors were able to learn more that allowed my brother and his wife to share 6 precious months with him. God has been faithful and has brought them through some immensely dark waters!

     Keep your eyes open this summer as you are out and about. You never know what bits of  nature you can use to bring more texture and homeyness into your house!

 


I'm sharing this here:

At the Pickett Fence 
The Shabby Creek Cottage
  Tatertots and jello
Between Naps on the Porch