Birch Bark Wall Art

When we were in the Boundary Waters (check out the last post) we noticed many beautiful Birch trees that had either fallen down or had peeling bark. I never knew how amazing this bark was. We have Aspen trees in Colorado but I'm not sure the Aspen's bark is as versatile as the Birch's. Birch tree bark can be used for all sorts of things and can be harvested without permanently damaging the trees. We found some bark to take with us and I knew that I wanted to incorporate it into our nursery somehow. We have a nature/woodland theme going on and I thought the bark would be perfect.

I decided to cut the bark into strips and weave them to make a piece of wall art. Then I remembered that I had the perfect frame. It actually came from our 1st house and was part of a light fixture. It's a rustic metal piece that I couldn't part with and knew that I would find the right use for it someday.

I love the way this piece of art turned out! If you want to do something similar you just need a few things:

You could use any type and shape of frame for your weaving. It's always fun to hunt for those at the thrift store.

Here's what the back looks like. I basically just put a big blob of hot glue down then attached the bark in a pattern.

It fits in perfectly with the collage of critter pictures we hung above the changing dresser.

Birch tree bark is so much fun to have on hand. Do you have any Birch trees near you? Next time you have the opportunity make sure you collect some of the bark for creative projects.