Family tree with a wire twist...

Hi Everyone!  Happy Saturday!  I hope you are all having a great weekend.  I want to share with you something I started late December 2010 and haven't really touched since.  I made this tree by twisting strands of wire together.  I had this vision in my head, but once I got the tree done (I made two trees) I just wasn't sure what to do with it from there.  Then I saw these mini silver picture frames that are meant to be used as jewelry charms.  They were the perfect size.  So after our Christmas guests left, I ordered the frames and then got to working on it again.

I used a bun foot that I had gotten for a stand but I didn't end up using it.

 I painted the bun antique white, then put an antique glaze on it and gave it a light sanding to bring the grain out.

Next I found a saying that I thought was very appropriate for this and wrote it on with a black pen.  The quote says, "Our family is like the branches of a tree.  We may grow in different directions yet our roots remain as one. 

 I cut a Styrofoam ball in half, then painted it brown (I forgot to take a picture of it).  And then I glued moss onto the ball.

 I sprayed the wire tree with black spray paint so that the black wire doesn't rub off on your skin if you touch it.  Then I add the the little frames to the branches.

 I also added a small wooden plaque where the family name can go since this is a family tree.

Then I wired the tree to the Styrofoam ball and glued the Styrofoam ball to the wooden bun.  And there you have it.

This is a smaller tree than the other one I made.  But I thought I'd start with the small one to see if I liked it.  I'm pretty happy with it, but I think it's missing something.  Some small wire leaves maybe?  Or maybe I could put a wire swirl at the end of the branches...it's a work in progress.  I have more frames that can go on, but that just depends on the size of your family.  I'll keep playing with it and keep you updated. 

I've been thinking a lot about family lately.  And I'm grateful for mine.  I think this is a nice way to honor my family.  I hope you have a great weekend and enjoy your family.  I will be enjoying some time with my parents before they head south to sunny Florida next week.  I will also be finishing the shelf that a client ordered, I'll show you that when I'm done.  Well, thanks for stopping by.

Update:  Thanks to a comment from Gail @ MyRepurposedLife, I made a change to the tree.  It never looked exactly right.  Check on the changes here.  Thanks Gail!