Na-na-na-na, na-na-na-na, Hey, hey, hey...

Goodbye!

Obviously you've stopped over at SYTYC and have seen the results from Kids Can Do, so you know I'm out of the running.  I'm not gonna lie, because lying is wrong.  I'm a wee bit disappointed.  My goal was to reach the top three, and I was one week shy.  I would have understood going home during Sunshine week, since I fully admit that my sun tent was not nearly as cute as it could have been.  But I was really excited about my Kids Can Do project, since it was not only something kids could DO after it was completed, but was also something kids could DO as in helping to create it.  Ah, such is life.  It was a fun time, and a whole lotta work, and honestly it was good I "went home" when I did since I left on a family vacation last week and am now in a crazy hurry to get some things done that desperately need doing.

Anyway, I'll have a full how-to for my hardware store project next week, but thought I'd give you a little sneak peek - what you would have seen up over on SYTYC this Monday, had I made it.

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I'm not sure when this idea came to me, but I've had it on my back burner for a while.  Hardware Store Week seemed the best time to actually turn the idea into something tangible, since I was fairly certain I could make it work with only hardware store items.  I had an old fence panel sitting around.  I cut it into a large rectangle and created a:

I was especially excited to use reclaimed wood in this project.  I know I don't have to tell you how hot wood pallet art is right now... and the section of fence I used gave me that same look and didn't cost me a dime.  There are so many options for making this, too.  An old fence, an old pallet, new wood from the hardware store... you name it!  Just paint the wood canvas any color you want.

For the names, I used cheap wood shims that you can get at any hardware store.  I cut them to size, printed out the names with a little leaf shape on my computer, and used spray adhesive to stick them on.  I kept the shims their natural wood color and texture to harmonize with the natural wood of the tree.  There are holes drilled in the back of the shims and in the tree, and then I inserted small wooden dowel pegs to connect them.  With some elbow grease, you can pop the name plaques right in place.  It's super easy to make more or change them when people get married.

I drew the tree shape with a pencil for guidelines, then used an electric carving tool to carve out the trunk, roots and branches.  The specific tool head I used was fairly small, so it took a long time, but I love the individual grooves all over the tree.  It looks just like bark!  The texture and shape it gave really makes the tree pop.  

Our reclaimed family tree will be the perfect centerpiece in our family room!

*Be sure to check the right sidebar for all the fun parties I link to!