How to Create Wood Ornaments from Debris

This wood ornament is made of a branch, random slats, spray paint and a shoelace.

You need not restrict your dangling art to a bunch of cheesy, store bought wind chimes. You can make dozens of creative, crafty and very cheap projects when you create wood ornaments from debris. These ornaments can hang anywhere from your outdoor patio to your kitchen ceiling, adding a sparkle of interesting artwork wherever they may be. Follow a few simple steps and you can create wood ornaments from debris with ease.

Difficulty:

Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Wood slats, branches or other wood pieces
• Nails
• Wire
• Twine, cord, chain or other string-like material

1. Gather your wood. Six different pieces is a good number to start with, one to be used as the base with five hanging down from it. You can pick a twisted or curved piece of the wood for the base and flat, elongated pieces for the hanging pieces for a nice effect. Wood can be tree branches, fence slats, stakes, driftwood or any another other type of wood you desire.

2. Pound a nail into the top of each hanging piece, about an inch or so down from the top. Use nails that are not too thick that they split your wood and not too thin that they simply fall out.

3. Paint as desired if desired. Wood looks good natural, but it also adds some jazz to add some color. Feel free to pick one color and spray paint, spray on different hues or sponge on the paint to your heart’s desire. Let the paint dry before moving on to the next step.

4. Attach the slats to the base. They can be hung from any type of cord, twine or chain and be as short or long as you like, as long as you leave enough slack to tie it around the base. Cut or create one piece of hanging material for each hanging piece. Attach with wire to the nail pounded in the hanging piece. Loop the other end of the cord around the base and knot it securely.

5. Create a way to hang the whole contraption by affixing another hanging material to the base. Here’s where you can get really ornate, using old costume jewelry, belts or lamp chains.

Tips & Warnings

• You may want to sand, saw down or otherwise ready your wood for use, depending on the type of ornament you are looking to create.

• If you are going to leave your ornament out in the elements, either use a weatherproof paint or spray the finished project with polyurethane or other sealer.

• Beware of splinters, always. Remove them immediately before they can get

• infected and thus make you hate your wooden ornament for the bad memories it will inevitably give you.