Scribble Picnic - Forest (In the Works)

Anybody out there remember my "Thursday's Throw Aways"?  For a brief period I did a weekly post featuring a project that recycled or reused something.  I've got a project like that in the works right now and I thought it would fit in with the Scribble Picnic theme of "FOREST".  

The material I'm recycling is paper - the kind that you get in the mail in the form of postcard-like advertisements.  The more colorful the better.  And since I have access to the recycling bin in the office at school, I have an additional source besides our home recycling.  The weight of the paper is heavier than your regular cardstock and these postcards are laminated so they have a sheen all their own.  

I used a die from Concord & 9th - Take a Bough - and I just kept at it until I had enough of a pile of boughs to make my first tree.

I needed 12 of each of the horizontal boughs and 4 each of the ones that can also double as snowflakes.

First I glued together 2 sets of each size just as they were.  Then I cut the rest in half and overlapped the holes to make sections that were slightly smaller.  The snowflakes were just doubled up.  All totaled there are 18 layers to this tree.

The center hole is 1/8" and calls for a dowel of that diameter which HWNSNBP tried to find in several stores for me without any luck.  Then I thought I should check out my wood stash (yes, I have a wood stash that includes all sorts of wooden things that I used to use in my crafting years ago).  I found another item that I can recycle - the dowel I used is actually a stick from a rock candy lollipop and it has a wooden bead at the bottom end.  I remember saving these to make felt carousel horse Christmas ornaments......another project that didn't come to fruition...............yet.  (There's always hope!)  Oh, and there will be a star for the topper.

I am really pleased with how this came out.  It kind of reminds me of some of the metalwork that I've seen coming out of Central and South America.  

HWNSNBP has some birch branches that I think would be great for bases for these.  

I can't wait to make a whole forest of them.  

I hope my friends at the picnic will be okay with this project for our theme this week.  I'm looking forward to seeing what everyone has come up with.  You know you can join in at anytime if you like.  Our next theme due two weeks from now is GOODBYE AUTUMN.  (News flash - our autumn here in NJ is going to be winter much sooner than anticipated with snow forecast for this Thursday....... and I haven't even gotten out my Snow Day Wand yet!)

Edited to add Scribble Picnic Link