Can You Guess What These Are?

I’ve had in mind for a couple of weeks now that I want to use tree branches, about 1 inch in diameter, in a unique way in John & Alice’s master bathroom. I’ve looked at Hobby Lobby and Michael’s to see what was available. Oh, they had them, but a 5-foot branch was about $15, and I would need two of them. That seemed a bit strange to me to pay $30 for something that could easily be found outside. So I decided to wait.

Then a couple of days ago, I was driving over to J & A’s house, and as I turned into the neighborhood, I saw a man out in his front yard trimming his trees. I stopped, explained to him that I needed branches for a project, and asked if I could rummage through his clippings to get what I needed. He was happy to let me do that, and even let me use his clippers.

I arrived at the house with more than enough branches for my project. After letting them sit outside in the sun for a couple of days to dry out a bit, I was ready to begin.

I plucked off all of the tiny twigs and leaves, and then cut them into about 3 1/2-inch pieces.

I needed 18 of them, so I cut about 20 just to have a couple of extras.

Then I used sandpaper to remove all of the little pointy twiggy things and the really rough spots, and also to smooth the ends.

They ended up just like I had envisioned.  I love the texture, the variations of color, the slightly varied diameters.

And the colors look gorgeous in the bathroom.  Can you see the subtle green?

Now I just need to seal them with some clear spray, and they’ll be ready to use.

So, any ideas?  Have you figured out what I’m going to use these for?