A Whimsical Birch Tree

Quite some time ago saw a craft idea on one of the blogs I read. I can't really remember exactly which one it was now. The craft was an arrangement of crochet flowers attached to thin dowels with tiny clothespins. I bought the dowels and clothes pins, but never got around to crocheting the flowers.

Today a new twist on this craft idea came to me. I got out my supplies and created a whimsical birch tree!

I love birch trees and they aren't as common here in the mid-Atlantic states as they are in New England. I love the beautiful yellow color the leaves turn in the fall. Down here the birches are small (scrawny in fact) and seen mostly as ornamental trees in lawns rather than the tall rows of birches that line the highways up north.

So, here is how I created my bit of whimsy:

I crocheted some cute little leaves.

I hot-glued the little clothes pins to the backs.

Since the clothes pins had to clip to the dowel at a right angle...

...I glued the leaves at various angles onto the clothes pins. That way the leaves would "dance" on the branches and not all be sticking out at the same angle.

Then I went looking for a vase or vessel to hold my "branches". I found a mason jar that had a vented lid that once held potpourri. Perfect! The vented lid would hold the dowels in place just right. 

In my travels I also ran across a ball of yarn, white with black flecks, just like birch bark. 

I unwound the ball of yarn into the glass jar.

I arranged my little crocheted leaves onto the branches...

...and added the branches to the jar.

I love the way it turned out. It brings a brightness to my craft room and it makes me smile.