sticks n twigs

i am in a creative, artistic FB  group and signed up to participate in the May challenge to make something out of sticks to hang outside. there were several guidelines, one of which stated that you could not use more than 6 sticks.

i decided to use 3 sticks i had found in our yard. i also knew that i wanted to implement vintage items from my studio into my piece. i wanted some hard, rusty elements mixed with a little lace and a hint of glam for softness.

you can see the wire and lace used to tie the sticks together and the use of a religious piece i had picked up last year at a flea market. i nailed that into the twig because there was still little pieces of chain attached to each side.

i had purchased small metal tags and have the tools to print words- so i created my own tag and attached to my wire. i stamped the word into the tag and then, used white paint to make my word pop. i added a chandelier dangle for a little glam to this piece. i attached the dangle into the lace.

this shows the very top wire through the twigs and how i finished the wire off. i had only drilled through one twig at both ends- that one was thick enough. one of the other twigs is drilled at one end, but, not the other; and the third twig is not drilled at all. instead i used the natural branch bends to hold my wire in place.

this just shows the wire and lace tie with the natural bend in my twig below.

this pic shows again the attachment of the twigs and how i finished the wire tie with my create tag.

i had seen a thimble used for such a thing as below and had been saving mine to use for just the right project- and this was definitely it! i used materials in my studio to create my thimble of goodness. i love the small numbered circular tag.

this is a small key with a pearled pin wrapped and attached- again for a little softness. the key is attached to the religious piece.

here are all of my dangly items- one at each corner and my thimble which is my focal point and main feature in the middle. love my blue beads for a dash of color- and made a blue bead dangle for the lower portion mixed in with the fabric and string.

here is a pic of my overall piece. cannot wait to hang it outside on our back patio.