I am not an artist! At least not like my brothers, parents, husband, grandchildren…In fact, everyone I know can draw better than me.  But I love creating things and can follow directions quite well. If I had the time, I would be crafting and sewing day in and day out. I find such satisfaction when a project is completed.

For years now, I’ve been collecting things I find outdoors. I’m amazed at the vast array of beautiful objects that fall from trees and plants.

This past Fall, my husband, a Land Surveyor, brought me the biggest wasp nest I had ever seen. Typically, I sell such articles on Ebay or Etsy, but this time I decided to come up with a way to incorporate it into a craft.

For a long time, I’ve had an old empty wooden frame hanging on our bathroom wall waiting for me to put something unique in it. I knew it had to be different and natural. But I just couldn’t seem to find the time it took to concentrate on it long enough to get my creative juices flowing.

Well, I decided after the Christmas holidays, my creative juices were going to flow even if I had to siphon them.  I gathered my collection of natural mixed media and sorted everything out on the kitchen table. After taking the frame off the wall, I laid it on the table alongside the goodies I intended to use.

Before long, the wasp nest began to look like the top of a tree and the Oak moss began to look like a bush at the base.  But first, I used my leftover green acrylic paints to cover the white poster board in the frame.

Because I love Spanish Moss, it will usually find its way into nearly every project I do. I decided to cover the entire board with my dried Spanish moss using my hot glue gun. A large piece of bark from a dead tree became another tree as did some of the bark removed from our Cypress knees. Add more Oak and green moss, seed pods and curled woodies from old potpourri, lambs-ear-like leaves I’d dried, cotton seed pods and, of course, a grapevine wreath for the sun and it’s finished.   Now, to bow it or not to bow it.  Sometimes I think bows take away from a project but I reluctantly made one out of burlap ribbon and so far it’s remained and I am satisfied.

I hope this blog has sparked an idea for you in using natural articles to make your own unique work of art. Go for a walk and you’ll be surprised how full your pockets can be when you return home.

One of my next projects? My husband will be dislodging a huge hornet’s nest soon which will most likely appear in the bathroom next to my mixed media natural picture. Until then, I’ll keep pressing on.  (Philippians 3:12)

  Here’s what I did with a big piece of tree bark and an end from a broken bird feeder