I love this project because everyone in the family can contribute in some way. It is perfect for a snow day spent at home, or a long afternoon in the summer when you’ve got nothing but time on your hands .

In this particular instance, a large wind storm left us this beautiful branch smack in the middle of the yard. The kids and looked at each other and we knew exactly what to do.

First, we dried out the stick for a few days in the basement where it is dry and hot. This also gets rid of any little bugs that might be hanging out inside.

I threw a big drop cloth on the floor and gathered up our materials. We used yarn, fabric scraps, wire, beads, feathers and anything else the children gathered from our art cabinet.

There really weren’t any directions involved. This was entirely about the process, and it happened to turn out to be so beautiful, that it now lives in our living room. The amazing thing about this stick project is that it has been ongoing for a few years. Whenever we find some fabric, interesting yarn or a bead that we love, one of the children pulls the branch out an adds on to it. There have been many new stick projects started over the years, but for some reason, this one was really magical. Sometimes, I wonder if it has anything to do with the tree that dropped it in our yard.…

How do you use gifts from Mother Earth in your art space?

I hope you found this post helpful.  If you want to hear more from me, please be sure to subscribe to my blog and join the conversation over on Instagram.  

-LIzzie