An Update to the Wire Family Tree...

Hi Everyone!  I hope you are having a great weekend.  Yesterday's post was the Family Tree I made out of wire which I liked but had been thinking that it wasn't exactly right.  Here's a picture of it.  Check it the post here.

I got a comment from my blog friend Gail at My Repurposed Life.  She said, "If I can be honest, I LOVE the tree (by itself!!!) and I LOVE what you did with the bun, but I don't think I like them together. I even think I might like it better with the styrofoam, but just some moss over the bun. That's my 2 cents, and that's about all it's worth. hahaha"

She actually meant to say she liked it better without the styrofoam, which she discovered after I replied to her.  So taking her advice, this is what I did.

 I removed the styrofoam and cut it down to just the top edge.  It's easier to connect the tree to a bit of styrofoam especially with the screw in the bun still there.

I think it looks much better this way.  Now I'm still trying to decide if it needs something more on the end of the branches.  What do you think?  Would you add a wire leaf or a swirl to the end of the branches?  Well thanks for stopping by.

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!