Driftwood pieces, okay they’re fake.

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What do you do if you want to create decor using driftwood pieces, but you live far from water? Okay, you can buy driftwood, but I decided to fake it.

closeup of pumpkin made with rolled craft paper to fake real driftwood pieces.

We live in Pismo beach for five glorious years. I found lots of sea glass and tripped over the driftwood. But, I never picked it up.

Now with all the DIY projects using driftwood, I wish I’d picked up some, or a truckload. You can buy driftwood on Amazon, but I decided to try and make driftwood.

We live in the mountains with truckloads of sticks. I could have tried to soak pieces and sand or put a bit in a tumbler. That could make a pile of toothpicks! After dumping a can of paint on our wool carpet last week, I decided not to try that one.

white painted board with some of the paint removed around the edges to reveal brown paint.

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Shop for supplies

You can gather items around the house for this project.

I used a piece of MDF that was painted brown and leftover from another project as the base. A canvas works too. I painted the board. Then removed paint slightly around the edge with a paper towel. Then let the paint dry.

While the board dried, I tore pieces of craft paper. These are my fake driftwood pieces.

I rolled the pieces like a cigar…or driftwood.

Then, I tapped the ends on the counter, bent the paper, twisted other pieces, anything to make it look like wood that’s been in the ocean for months.

Now I started laying out the fake driftwood. My first idea was an autumn leaf. Hum, that’s not working. Looks like a man with his arm in the air.

When all else doesn’t work, go simple. So, I made a pumpkin.

Or an apple. Mike says, “apple.”

I’ve used several different things to make pumpkins in the past.

These framed pumpkins made a Boston area magazine.

This painted gourd went from fake to gorgeous gold.

Then glued the pieces in place with white craft glue. I grabbed the still wet paintbrush and dry brushed over the cigars, uh, driftwood.

Maybe we should move closer to real driftwood.

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2 Comments

  1. Lisa, the hole keep heat from building up too much. Otherwise, there’s a slight chance the jar will explode. Although very slight. It has never happened to me and I’ve made many jars over twenty years. In fact, I’ve only heard of this happening once from a reader. But better safe than sorry. Have you tried the technique? ~Jeanette

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