As part of the bird and branches baby shower I threw for my friend Aimee, I cut up some old tree limbs I found curbside and made them into place card holders that doubled as photo holders after the shower. I am digging bringing some natural elements into my home lately so I saved a few for myself.
Supplies:
Old Tree Limbs
Chopsaw
Circular saw,
clamps
pencil and ruler
Every time, for the past 6 months, I drive to my mom’s house, I see this vacant house that has hundreds of limbs cut down and chopped into nice pieces. I thought for sure people would scavenge them for firewood in the winter months. But they are still there. So I drove and grabbed some of the smaller limbs to use as décor for the baby shower. Free and cheap, love it!
1. I took some of the thinner limbs (no more than 5” wide) and chopped them down in varying sizes from 2” – 6” with my miter saw.
2. Next I asked my friend Mike what the best way to cut a small slit in them would be. He said a circular saw and volunteered to help me with the project. He set up two clamps to help hold the wood piece in place and created a jig of sorts to cut them.
3. He found the center and drew a line to have a line to follow when cutting.
4. He set his circular saw to have a slight tilt in the blade so the cut would be at an angle. This makes it easier for the pictures to rest in the cut.
5. In 30 minutes he had cut all 25 of them for me.
I simply added a place card and the slight angle of the cut made them rest in the cut perfectly.
After the shower they make adorable picture holders. These would make an awesome FREE gift as well.
Those are perfect!! What a great idea!!
fantastic! great idea!
These are fantastic…they’d look awesome in a wedding too!
Awesome! This will be the perfect Father’s Day gift for my dad. Now, who can I enlist to help me with this project other than my dad???? I need a Mike! Thanks for sharing!!
And, I love the idea of adding the printable to the display. Usually, we frame the picture. I would like to try something like this.
Thanks, Lori!
Thanks so much!
Definitely! The rustic element would be a great contrast to all the wedding finery.
Everyone needs a Mike! Ha!
It really couldn’t get any easier to switch out the pictures which is also a bonus!
I also wanted to tell you your kids are adorable. The expression on your little girl’s face is priceless.
I think they’re pretty cute myself. 😉 Thanks!
Awesome stuff Beckie. I just made some photo stands using air drying clay. These look a lot sturdier.
I was wondering, on a circular saw can you change the depth in which the blade cuts into the wood?
Thanks, Jacob. They are definitely sturdy. With the circular saw, you can only cut it halfway down, but you’d have to control that or put a stop block on to do it.
I love these!!! They are perfect for a dinner I am helping decorate for! How deep are the slits for the pictures to set in? Thanks for a great, simple idea!!!
Stop block – I never thought of having one under the saw. That’s what I wanted to hear, awesome. Thanks..
No problem. Good luck!
Thanks, Kim. The slits are about an inch. Good luck with all the party planning!