Last week Poppytalk contributor and photographer, Janis Nicolay and I got together for a super fun craft day! We had both been longing to do something together and driftwood was the chosen theme. So after spending another day (a few weeks back) beach combing a local shore (not too far from where I live - and a bonus day by the way) we found some beautiful pieces to work with.





As we collected, ideas were thrown back and forth, God's Eyes became a focus (so we started looking for longer thinner pieces), Janis had an idea to make a square wreath and I was thinking of possibilities such as coat hangers. In the end after taking stock of all that we found, other ideas also evolved, and initial ones dropped. But all in all, we decided to make it a holiday-themed decor idea, but really, these could be translated into any theme of course. One could also use tree branches in place of driftwood if you live inland, maybe even removing the bark to get the smooth effect like driftwood. Or as Megan says, however you roll. (All photo's by Janis Nicolay).

selected pieces
God's Eyes

As it had been years since I made God's Eyes (an old summer camp craft), Janis gave me a mini lesson. And really, it's pretty easy, but definitely a little tricky at first if you're a novice like me. So we made this mini video to help explain the process. (Excuse the quality, it was taken quickly using my iPhone).



Basically we tied two twigs together with the yarn, and then went from there; first creating a cross effect and then starting the weaving process (over and around on one twig and then under and around on the next and continuing through to the end). We used two colours, tying the yarn when it was time to and then to end it by weaving through and knotting it.


Driftwood Wreath

Janis' wreath craft started out with some festive craft fare such as pinecones and glitter dust.




First she wired together the driftwood pieces creating a square. She then applied some glitter to the pinecone and wired it (using floral wire and a glue gun) to one corner. A found piece of curly bark was added for interest.


Afterwards Janis tied some grey yarn around the top to hang it with. A simple and clean modern take on a traditional holiday accessory!


Yarn Wrapped Driftwood

As Janis was making her wreath, and as I looked at my driftwood, a thought had come to mind to perhaps wrap some different coloured yarns around the edges of a few pieces. What ended up were these pieces below; which I rather liked and may stick around even longer than the holidays.


We hope you enjoyed our craft day as much as we did. There's nothing more refreshing than removing oneself from the computer and getting together with a sweet friend (who makes delicious coffee and a good lunch). She served her olive + rosemary mini bread (a must try recipe)! Plus the craft wasn't too overwhelming, and rather rewarding in the end. We were able to make quite a few God's Eyes, the wreath and some wrapped sticks all in an afternoon!