You CAN Make a Birch Bark Vase!

You CAN Make a Birch Bark Vase!

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crafts, decor, seasons

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Don't you just love all the birch bark accessories you see out and about?  You can find birch bark on most anything from candles to vases to journals covers and I love it all!  What about birch beer?  Not such a fan. But birch bark?  For sure! But what's a girl to do if she can't keep buying new accessories?  Make some did you say? HOLLA!

Once again paint was my medium of choice and a Dollar Tree vessel was the container I used. They had these nifty cylinder vases that beg to become something else.

 Step 1: Spray paint them gold inside and out.

 Step 2: You'll need cream, white, light brown, and dark brown craft paints and a large foam brush.

Step 3: Paint a layer or two of cream paint over the gold. It won't cover completely. The gold will resist some of the cream paint which is fine.  Let it dry.

Step 4: Apply a layer or two of white paint over the cream. Just keep layering the white over the cream until you get the color bark you want. Let dry. See how you can still see some of the gold coming through?  It looks so pretty in person.

Step 5: Dab the brush into one of the brown paints, I don't think it matters which one you start with. Practice dabbing a few times to get the look you want. These are going to be the striations in the bark.

Step 6: Dab the brown paint horizontally around the vase. Use varying pressures, widths, and lengths to achieve the most natural look. I also left some big blobby areas just like some real birch bark pictures I had googled. Then add some of the other brown paint in the same way. I found sticking my hand in and flipping the vase upside down was the easiest way to do this.

 

I ran a clean, dry foam brush around some areas to smear it a bit and make it look less severe in areas and some I left as is. I like it to look random and natural. This is what pleases me but you can do what pleases you by omitting the dry brushing or dry brushing the whole thing!  You can't mess this up!  If you do, let it dry and start over by re-spraying it gold.

I made two so far and I have another vase I may do too. You can see how the I made the one of the right a little darker than the other one. Just like nature...no two are alike!

To use these to hold fresh flowers, place a large glass inside and place the water and flowers into that since the inside is painted. 

I hope you'll try making some DIY birch bark vases too!  If you minus the drying time you can do this in about 15 minutes.

Cheers!

Linking up at Ginger Snap Crafts,  Monday Funday, Link Party Palooza, 
 Block Party, 
That DIY Party
Moonlight and Mason Jars