The day I came across a Folger’s coffee can full of rusty washers at the new and used store, I giggled. I plunked the can down on the counter all proud of myself, and the sales guy raised his eyebrows, and threw me a “WHAT are you gonna do with all THAT?!”
“I dunno. How much?”
“Uh… ok then! Five bucks!”
Sold! No need for technicalities here, just get whatcha like I say!
And then I fiddled around, and came up with this fuzzy wood round metal washer Christmas garland for my Christmas tree. Which I haven’t got yet. But soon! Very soon!
Here’s how I made it:
You’ll need:
Firewood logs with bark around them
Cotton string
A bucket of rusty washers for FIVE BUCKS
A cordless drill with a small drill bit
Chunk of 2 x 4
Cocoa mat planter stuff ( I have no idea what to call this)
1. Go dig through your firewood (again!! like I did for the log candle centrepiece) for selected pieces of wood at the size you desire. It’s ok if they aren’t all identical, it’s a little more quirky that way.
2. Slice them up to desired thickness (at least .25″ I say).
3. Placing the wood rounds onto a 2 x 4, drill small holes on each side. This will save your photo studio farm table from harm.
4. Repeat a million times. It actually goes pretty fast if you don’t get side tracked with something more exciting.
5. Thread a piece of cotton string through a wood round and washer, and double knot them together.
Use cotton, because if you use a nylon based string like I did the first time, it will unravel on you. Perfect. Nylon has a different agenda it seems.
See? It’s kinda cute already.
6. Raid your junk stash and hope you can find a planter filler liner thing that looks like a front door cocoa mat. NO idea what this stuff is called but I’m glad the hoarder in me threw it aside rather than out.
Lightly shred it and hot glue a little bit of it to each wood round.
Obviously this is an optional step if you want your garland fuzzy. I just thought it was a cool touch.
7. Wait for your Christmas tree to arrive. Then use it on the tree. Or in another place while you wait for your tree.
This garland is heavy and tends to twist facing downwards from the washer weight, so you’ll need a good support for it… such as on a tree. Hence the wait.
This wood round metal washerChristmas garland is very quirky, but I think it’s going to look fabulous on a fresh green real Christmas tree, giving it that rustic touch I’m after.
I seem to have a thing for garlands lately. Here are a few others that may interest you if washers aren’t your thing…
grapevine pinecone twig garland
Sorry regular washer folk… there’s just bigger and better things to do with washers nowadays…
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See you tomorrow for Day 8!
I love it Donna! What kind of saw did you use to cut the wood? I tried cutting a log on my chop saw last year and it threw the log across the room… luckily I still have 10 fingers!
Susan
Hey Susan! I used a compound miter saw. When the log got a little too short for my liking, I either tossed it or held it in place with another piece of wood. Worked great!
I just love all of your rustic garlands, Donna!
If only that guy could see the rest of the rusty stuff you bring home, he’d REALLY wonder about you!
Love your garland! I like the combination of the wood with the metal!
If people can make jewelry out of washers why not a garland? I have a washer necklace, and I might have to make myself a washer garland too.
hey enjoyed your great odeas, i was tired of the same old glitter and tacky glitzy look and have woodlands behind my haouse, so went straight at it. thanks for sharing.