DIY crafts from tree bark: properties and rules for harvesting bark. Making crafts

Even in ancient times, wood was used not only as a material for construction, but also as a material for crafts, from which not only various interesting household items were made, but also decorative items in the interior. Since wood is easy to process, you can make crafts with your own hands, without requiring any special skills.

If you have a desire to learn how to make crafts from branches, but have never encountered such an activity before, do not be afraid to improvise. To choose the right tree for crafts, you should know that it must be smooth, without knots. You will find smooth wood, without flaws, at a sawmill or at any woodworking enterprise or in a store. It is necessary that the wood is of high quality, as this affects the quality of the crafts. Crafts can be made not only from branches, but from sections of wood or from any scraps.

If you make crafts from branches, then it is better to choose straight ones and without resin, although branches of non-standard shape are also ideal. Based on this, spruce or pine branches are not very suitable for making products for interior decoration, since they contain a large amount of resin, so it is very difficult to clean off the resin after working with pine or spruce branches with a knife and hands. Branches whose fibers are located in the same direction are ideal for crafts.

How to process branches before use

If you want to make crafts from hard tree branches (oak, maple) , then you need to know that they need to be processed immediately after they are cut . In order to make a small figurine, birch branches are perfect. Because they are very easy to cut and will not take you much time to make the craft. But, for example, black birch wood is harder. If you dry the birch wood a little, it will become even more docile.

How to treat branches before using them at home?

1. The first step is to wash them thoroughly.
2. And then, in order for the craft to be smooth and even, we take sandpaper (or a hard sponge) and rub its surface, leveling it.
3. After this, you need to dry the cut branches. To do this, you need to put the branches in the oven for 1-2 hours. Make sure they don't dry out.

If the wood dries out, you just need to moisten them a little with water before you start working, since dry wood is more difficult to work with.

Preparing material for work

Before use, the bark must be processed and thoroughly dried. To do this we will need the following materials and tools:

• knife
• boards
• bars
• nails
• hammer
• antiseptic
• wood varnish
• tassel
• Grinder

1. Cover the plates on both sides with an antiseptic, which is applied with a brush. 2. Place one board on a flat surface, place bars across the board in increments of 1-1.5 meters. The height of the bar depends on the thickness of the bark, usually 30 cm is enough. Place a second board on top. 3. We fasten each block to the boards with nails. 4. Place the bark plates between the blocks to dry. 5. We process the dried bark from the wrong side with a grinding machine, and if necessary, trim the edges with a sharp knife. 6. Cover the plates with fire retardant (to increase fire resistance). Typically, any fire retardants are applied in two layers with an interval of 1.5-2 hours. This information is indicated on the packaging. 7. Apply wood varnish to the bark.

How and with what you can paint branches

In order for the branches to be snow-white, they can be painted with ordinary white emulsion paint, and we will get such a wonderful basis for decoration. You can also paint the branches with white gouache with a brush and without water (pure paint), rather than with watercolors, since the consistency of the gouache allows the paint to dry on the branches. It is also applied evenly, clearly and has a snow-white color (compared to watercolors).

After you've given the branches one coat of paint, let them dry for about 15 minutes , then flip them over and paint the other side. You can repeat the process until all parts of the branches are completely covered with paint.

You can also use acrylic paint or spray paint (aerosol) to paint branches .

Aerosol paint in a can has some advantages:

• Very easy to use. There is no need to spend money on solvents or quality brushes.
• If you use brushes, you will not achieve such an even paint job as with an aerosol.
• Aerosol paint in cans is a simplified method of painting with a compressor. If used skillfully, you can achieve professional painting of any surface.
• Reliability and color matching.

Advantages of acrylic paint:

• There is practically no toxicity - you can work indoors, there is no unpleasant odor.
• High quality coating of the material, which makes it possible to apply fewer layers of paint.
• Dries very quickly. The drying time of acrylic paint on wood depends on the structure of the surface, the thickness of the layer, and the microclimate in the room.
• Good durability.
• Easy application (both manually and using a spray).
• After drying it is very elastic. The film that forms after water evaporates can change its linear dimensions, so cracks appear on the painted surface much less often.
• Extensive color palette and variety of textures.

Disadvantages of acrylic paint:

• High price.
• It delaminates if stored for a long time.
• Cheap varieties quickly discolor, fading under the influence of ultraviolet radiation.

Painted tree branches are ideal as interior decoration.

How to age wood

There are several ways. The most interesting and most used of them is the texturing or brushing method.

The name of broaching comes from the English word brush, which means “brush”. This method involves removing soft fibers from the top layer of wood. As a result of processing, the surface becomes embossed. If this happened during natural aging, it would take a very long time. Brushing is considered the most realistic method of simulating antiquity, and it is not at all difficult to do it at home.

What types of wood are suitable for brushing?

In order to age a tree, you need to use the following tree species: pine, oak, larch, ash, walnut. And maple, beech, cherry, pear, teak and some exotic trees are completely resistant to mechanical aging.

The main tool for brushing is a hard metal brush . Since it is not possible to age wood quickly in this way, the process can be accelerated using a drill or grinder with a special wire brush.

If you do it yourself, you will need hard sandpaper. We clean the surface with it, and then apply a solution of ammonia (ammonia), which gives the effect of darkening the wood. As a result, the structure of the wood will be able to appear brightly, and the darkening will give the product an antique look.

Next, you can simply coat the product with varnish in 2-3 layers.

Then rub it with a soft cloth to give it extra shine. Thanks to varnishing, the product is given a finished look.

Stick to minimalism

There is no need to oversaturate your site with a wide variety of plants. This makes gardening more difficult.

When organizing your garden, you should adhere to minimalism. It is enough to equip an alpine hill, plant perennials and several beautiful trees.

Many gardeners dream of a good harvest. In this case, you need to minimize the number of ornamental plants and focus on garden crops.

How to process wood cuts

Products made from end cuts or saw cuts of wood simply enchant with their design and deserve special attention.

An even cross-section of a tree with a thickness of 8 to 20 cm and a diameter of 15 to 80 cm or more is called a cut.

This is simply unique, since the annual rings of the tree are visible on the “plate”; their contours are never repeated. Saw cuts with and without bark are used in interior decoration: on walls, ceilings, floors, in furniture cladding, in object design and decor.

1. For example, let’s take a cut of a tree and cut out the shape we need with an electric jigsaw.
2. Then we sand it with a grinding wheel or sandpaper.
3. After this, we cover the product with stain or wood varnish.

In order to protect your crafts from harmful factors and give them an aesthetic appearance, they must be painted (by choosing the paint you like) or varnished. Before painting, you can prime it with wood primer. The paint is applied in an even layer to the primed surface.

I would like to fill my home with natural items, without toxins and dyes. Eco-design is one of the main trends, and wood is its leading element. Reminiscent of pleasant walks in the park and forest, gives warmth and freshness to the interior.

Together with interior designer Yulia Butova, woodworker Kathleen Smith and creator of cozy things Yaroslava Gaiduk, we figured out how to make wooden decor and decorate a house.

Text author: Elena Shirina

Wood in the interior: benefits for health, soul and nature

Health

Research says that if you surround yourself with trees, you will become more active and energetic. An experiment by Austrian scientists showed that children who studied at wooden desks had lower stress levels and better academic performance. In Finland, they collected the results of several scientific works and came to the conclusion: wood in the interior is no worse calming than walking in nature.

Practicality

The material is soft enough to drive nails into and engrave. But it is also durable enough to age beautifully and maintain an attractive appearance for years. On dry, hot days, wood humidifies the air, and if the room is damp, it absorbs excess moisture.

Durability

Pieces of furniture and decor can live several lives. Antique frames, boxes and chests of drawers can be restored. Use old boards and boxes as a basis for recycling. Motivational signs with drawings come out of the boards, bookshelves come out of the drawers, and original cabinets come out of the wine barrels.

Availability

The material is so accessible that it literally lies under your feet. If there are no unnecessary boards in the pantry, go for a walk. The easiest option is to collect beautiful branches, wash them and put them in a vase. The result is an unusual and durable alternative to a bouquet. Making decorations from bark or wood cuttings is also easy.

How to create wooden decor?

The material is under your feet

To create eco-style decor, there is no need to cut down trees. Everything you need is in the forest on the ground. Pay attention to dry trees, stumps, branches. Each branch has a unique shape, texture, and pattern. All you have to do is wash and dry the tree. It is convenient to cut garlands and decorative figures from the bark. From the branches you can make a hanger, assemble a frame for a mirror or photo, or decorate a candlestick. And if you want to capture yourself in the updated interior, there is a life hack - you can make convenient eco-selfie sticks from branches.

Oil or varnish will make the wood more durable

Varnish and linseed oil protect the wood from moisture and mold. To treat a hanger or a decorative bark figurine, choose a varnish. This way the bark will hold on better and will not dry out. Varnish is also suitable for painted wood. In other cases, oil is preferable.

Advantages of decorating the interior with wood cuts

Wood cuts surprise at the same time with their visual appeal and the complexity of their creation from a technical point of view.

Now let’s see what advantages wood finishing has:

• Durability. If the wood can be properly processed and is protected from moisture and various mechanical damage, then it will last quite a long time. If it is a whole wooden wall or floor, then you can save on annual repairs.
• Thermal insulation. Firewood is a source of heat not only in a fire. The raw material has the ability to maintain temperature, so for a cold concrete apartment this is the best type of insulation, albeit partial. In winter, such an insulated floor will warm any feet.

Decorative tree made from branches

• Uniqueness. You can, of course, hang wallpaper with images of wood cuts, or lay laminate flooring, but in such pictures a pattern is used - a simple repetition of one module. Natural finishing with saw cuts is a composition where each element is unique. The pattern on the saw cut and its shape are unique.

Creating a designer wall

For decoration, it is advisable to choose one side of the room. The design of all planes is a sign of bad taste, and the room will look overloaded. Any room needs to be given air, and it’s not about the windows. It should breathe space, and light empty planes give this effect. Only one “woody” edge of the room will become a kind of accent, which will become its mood. You can lay out the “wood puzzle” yourself, and now we’ll talk about how it’s done.

Everyone has a dead tree in their yard that needs to be removed. Now it's time to chop it down. We take a branch and cut it into bars of medium thickness. You can remove the bark from the resulting “pancakes” and then sand it. Thanks to this, you will not drive a thorn when touching the wall. The resulting wood layers should be treated with a special insect repellent, and then placed on glue. It is advisable to varnish the resulting relief - varnished wood can last a long time.

On a note! Create a composition from branches of different sizes, starting from a massive trunk and ending with the thinnest branches. The composition breathes due to the voids formed between the cuts of different sizes.

Specific features of a living gazebo

With a creative approach to project development, a gazebo made of driftwood can become a favorite place for all household members in the garden. In its design, natural beauty will be combined with coziness and comfort, so inside the gazebo you can receive guests, read your favorite books and greet each new day with a cup of aromatic coffee.

The design of the building assumes maximum openness and airiness. The functions of the frame, roof beams and even walls in the gazebo will be performed by trees and driftwood. Having planted them on the site and intertwined them, the owners will have the opportunity to watch every year how the “living” hut in the garden changes its appearance, acquiring new forms. A gazebo made of trees will look beautiful in winter and summer, so you can safely build it next to the house, using tree trunks as supports, and their branches and leaves as a frame and roof.

It is advisable to choose a place for the gazebo that is open and illuminated. In shaded areas, plants will develop slowly and gain vegetative mass poorly, which is extremely undesirable when building a living gazebo.

Wall panel - a piece of nature in the interior

You can find a panel made from any components, but you haven’t seen a canvas made of wood, have you? Contrasts are welcome here, so feel free to even use hemp. The picture should not look like a pattern, but a full-fledged composition with a dominant and secondary elements. Make tonal gradations and place accents using tone. For the proposed product specifically, it is better to leave the bark - it will make it more attractive. The careless terrain will create the atmosphere of an endless forest and transport you into it.

It is advisable to sketch out a rough sketch, but if you like to improvise directly during the work, then go ahead. For a bright contrast, assemble the canvas frame from simple planks, this will give the picture lightness. The cuts are sanded on the side that is adjacent to the wall for better gluing. Leave the other side untouched - this will add naturalness to the overall picture. The wood cuts limited to a frame in the interior will look like a window overlooking the forest. The frame collects the composition into one whole and groups it.

Group the plants

Do not scatter plants randomly throughout the area. They need to be grouped into a single composition. It should be large enough.

Combine flowers of the same variety and several accent shrubs into one group. Create several of these “spots” in your flowerbed.

This rule also applies to trees. They can be planted in rows, alleys or arrays. Woody plants should create a bright accent in garden areas.

Difficulties in laying out a modular floor

This type is quite complex, so it is better to be patient and get to work. Choose thick trunks to avoid the formation of large voids when laying out circles. Hardwood logs are selected to make the floor, because the floor is exposed to impact every day.

There are two reasons that will make you sweat:

• Solution. If you put all the parts on glue, then the floor will not last long, even if you cover it all with varnish. Modules will begin to fall off due to constant pressure. You will have to use a solution, possibly cement-based.
• Leveling the surface. If the thickness of each element does not play a big role in the design of the vertical plane, then for the floor this is the main condition. It is necessary to adjust all the modules to the overall thickness, and start grinding after installation. The procedure will take quite a long time, because achieving a smooth surface is not easy.

Don't use too many types

Don't try to plant as many varieties of greenery as possible in one flowerbed. Choose one type of plant to dominate. Flowers, shrubs and even trees can be used in this capacity. Around the dominant species, plant another 4-6 varieties of flowers that will complement the composition.

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It is advisable to plant plants with different flowering periods. Then the garden will delight you with bright colors for a long time.

When planning plantings, adapt to the natural conditions of your site. Plant moisture-loving plants in moist areas and drought-tolerant plants in dry areas.

Creating home comfort with homemade furniture

Furniture looks completely different depending on the type of raw materials available. Tables and chairs are made, since the silhouette of the cut itself already resembles a small table or chair.

There are two basic principles for creating furniture:

• Modular - assembly of an element from small parts (modules). Actually, we are already familiar with this method. It allows you to create a product of absolutely any shape. Here it is also necessary to achieve a perfectly flat surface. Dishes will be placed on the table, and to prevent them from overturning, the surface of the table must be perfectly polished.

• Solid - a solid element is taken as a basis. This option is much simpler than the previous one in technical terms, but it is more difficult to find a large diameter bar. Things are better with chairs, but if you want a table where the whole family can dine, you will have to tinker with finding a large-diameter cut. The price of a dimensional cut is quite high.

It doesn’t matter what principle you apply to creating a product, the main thing is to immediately assess your capabilities so as not to spoil the material. Any method is good, because wooden furniture is famous for its strength and durability.

Video Decorating a wall with a panel made from timber with your own hands

The faster industry develops, the more people try to get closer to nature. He surrounds himself with nature not literally, but by creating the illusion of being in the air, even if he is relaxing in the living room. This is the desire not only to live in a house that is built from natural raw materials, but also to come up with an appropriate interior design. Therefore, everyone strives to use hand-made wooden decor in their home in order to feel like a real owner.

The fashion for wood appeared a long time ago, but now not everyone can furnish their own home in the style of the TV series “Twin Peaks”. The room should not be oversaturated with wooden furniture, furs and animal heads. This already speaks of the bad taste of the owners. These blanks are available for forest areas, but for steppe areas, finishing a house in this style will cost a pretty penny. There is an option to dilute the usual surroundings with rare inclusions of wooden cuts, which result in absolutely any image. You can create such a design yourself, spending only on fastening materials.

Kitchen ideas based on semicircular cuts

This figure is an unusual piece of decor and a reliable assistant in the kitchen. The material can withstand high temperatures and does not heat up as much. From saw cuts you can create simple one-piece stands and modular ones, the material of which is easier to find. Everyone has seen such stands in a store and thought “No, you can’t do this yourself” - a wrong opinion. Why pay more if you do it yourself?

The kitchen will be complemented by fancy semi-circular shelves, which can be put together from solid cuts of wood, dividing them into two parts. The illusion is created that the “round block” is in the process of sinking into the wall. An interesting technique is if the shelf is round, this creates visual movement. The effect is achieved due to the dynamic relief on the bark. Cookbooks or personal collections of the housewife's recipes will harmoniously be placed on the shelves. And the product will withstand quite a lot of weight, even if its dimensions may not inspire confidence.

Remember! If this is a stand specifically for dishes, then it is better to make it one piece. Joining small parts involves gluing, and glue is not compatible with high temperatures. The stand will simply fall apart into several parts.

Wood drying methods

"On the Root"

The fastest and most reliable way to dry a tree is considered to be the “standing” method. The trunk of a living tree is deprived of moisture from the roots. The leaves draw out all the remaining moisture, causing the tree to dry out in just a couple of weeks and is guaranteed to dry out inside. Trees should be dried in the spring, when the moisture flow is most active.

To block the flow of natural moisture, at a distance of approximately 0.5 m from the base of the trunk, you need to remove a ring of bark 1-1.5 m thick. The crown of the tree will act like a pump and will soon completely drain the trunk.

Wood detail as an accent in the interior

Small inclusions of “forest” in your usual surroundings will mentally bring you closer to nature. Saw cuts in the interior are used as decoration and perform certain functions.

We create fancy accents with our own hands:

• Watch. The unusual use of sawn wood in any interior looks nice. Especially if it is an uneven circle with bark on the surface. The bark is fixed, because it can deteriorate over time. The more careless the wooden “pancake” looks, the more interesting the watch will be.

• Flower vases. Give free rein to your imagination and use different types of branches. An ornament made with your own hands from small branches looks expensive, and no one will guess that the vase cost you pennies. It will harmonize with the design and will resonate with items with similar decor.

Remember! There should be few things made from identical material in the room. They should resonate with each other, but not look like too much.

• Frames for mirrors. When creating a product, it is important to adhere to rhythm or metricity, but chaos will be inappropriate. Alternate large cuts of wood with small ones, or make the entire frame from circles of approximate size. Any of the options will be correct.

Making a floor from saw cuts yourself is quite possible. Not to mention small interior items that can be made in a minute using wood, glue and your imagination. Surprise your friends with a tastefully decorated home and make your life more comfortable. This is an environmentally friendly product that will benefit your health. If the product is made of pine needles, then the light pine aroma can even help you treat a cold.

If you can handle the floor, then decorating an entire wall with wood will seem like a matter of five minutes. You will need to use your own taste and knowledge of composition, although most people trust their instincts.

Everything will work out, just “assemble” these products and secure them with glue, or simply cut out a solid object. Create an image in your head and try to bring it to life. You do not need special knowledge or skills; adhere to the basic rules for choosing materials and processing tools. After all, why spend a lot of money on a designer’s work if you can handle this task yourself without spending a penny.

Video Decorating a wall with a panel made from timber with your own hands

Home / Tips and ideas / DIY / Wood cuts in the interior: 20 inspiring examples and a master class

Anastasia Kuzmenko Mon, 29 Sep 2014 17:45:00 +0300

Tired of urban beauty, metropolitan residents are increasingly striving to return to natural sources, choosing an ecological lifestyle: ecological products, ecological cosmetics, ecological interiors. The latter can be called the main trend in the world of modern design.

You can find inspiration and tips for creating an ecological interior not only in the forest landscape, but also in fairy tales familiar from childhood. Remember Pinocchio? No, we are not suggesting that you cut out a talking doll from a log. There are many other ways to use logs, stumps and wood cuts in the interior. Today we will discuss how to use wood cuts in the interior and make decor with your own hands.

Thanks to their flat shape and the ability to choose almost any size (diameter and thickness), the scope of use of saw cuts in decoration is incredibly wide. Products made from wood cuts can be used as independent decorative accessories or in compositions, used as furniture parts or finishing materials. The number of original interior solutions involving this natural element depends only on your imagination.

For example, now such a design technique as the “inverted wall” is very popular. We are talking about the fact that inside the room one or more walls look the same as the outer cladding of the house, that is, the finishing material used is not standard wallpaper or tiles, but concrete, brick or wood. Cutting wood in the interior is a great way to achieve a similar decorative effect, as evidenced by the photo below.

If such an abundance of wood does not quite fit with the rest of the interior, you can create an original fragmentary finish. You can also use tree cuts, converted into art objects, in wall decor. A few natural or painted wooden circles in a picture frame will look very impressive.

The flat round shape of a wooden cut beckons experimental designers to find a master class on the Internet on how to create a homemade chair or coffee table in eco style. And those who are unfamiliar with needlework can simply use ready-made saw cuts as charming coasters for all occasions.