How to Make Broken Tree Limbs Into Art

Broken tree art

Just because your favorite tree was felled by a violent storm doesn’t mean it’s garbage. Sure, you may have to remove the tree from your front yard, but that doesn’t mean you can't keep the limbs in your backyard and turn them into artwork. You can make broken tree limbs into art with a few simple steps and easy to obtain supplies. This way your favorite tree stays with you, and in greatly enhanced form.

Things You'll Need

• Broken limbs
• Paint
• Hammer and nails
• Wire
• Random debris

Instructions

1. Collect and prepare your broken limbs. Pull or cut off any sprouts, leaves or other small branches that will die and fall off or look like they are going to fall off anyway.

2. Paint away. Pick a color or two to enhance the branch. Tree limbs look good in a simple black and white stripe or in a striking monochromatic hue. Pick something other than brown. Play around with it, seeing how deep or light you want the color to be and how much of the bark you want showing through. Spray paint works well for all-over even coverage. Sponging on paint is the key for mottled, contrasting hues.

3. 

   Decide where to put it. Smaller limbs can be tucked sideways in the corners of your yard, threaded through fences or used as ornamental barriers around the edge of your yard. One more option for smaller limbs is to hang the broken branches from plant hangers, shepherd hooks or chains from the porch ceiling. Larger trunks can be installed to stand upright. Dig a hole for the base and pile dirt securely around it so it stays standing. Prop against a wall for even more stability.

4. Install random pieces of debris onto the broken limb. Collect debris from the ditch, your garage or the salvage yard and rinse it clean. Nail directly into place on your tree limb or wrap with wire if a nail will not go through. Old jewelry works well on tree limbs, with bracelets lined up and down a branch or necklaces draped and nailed to the bark. Belts, old toys, parts of plates and silverware and pieces of sheet metal are other good debris choices. A shoe or two also ends up looking cool.

5. Paint again if desired. You can leave the debris the color it came in or spray paint the entire piece one color, like a striking silver or gold.

Tips & Warnings

• Other artwork you can create from broken tree limbs includes trellises for vines to go wild on.

• Wherever you situate the fallen branches, make sure they are stable and not ready to topple once again in the next storm. Use stakes or wire if necessary to secure them in place.