Tree Branch Jewelry Stand

My mom hates plastic. I have her words of wisdom forever engraved in my brain. “It’s PLASTIC…stay away from that crap, Julie. Buy American made products, and don’t buy PLASTIC.”

Well, Mom…you are right. I don’t like PLASTIC either, and I always try to buy American made products.

I don’t think I can get any more non-plastic than this DIY Tree Branch Jewelry Stand. Oh, and it’s definitely American made. More like Julie from redheadcandecorate.com made in her Michigan back yard made.

I’ve accumulated a lot of jewelry in my 26, I mean 46 years. I detest clothes shopping, but LOVE jewelry shopping. Ironically enough, I don’t wear a ton jewelry anymore. I tend to stick to the same thing every day which are just basic thin big hoops, my diamond rings, my diamond necklace, and my happy day bracelets. Yes, I have bracelets that I only wear on happy days. I tell my girls that if you see these bracelets on Mama, that means I’m happy.

If you look closely at the necklaces above, you may notice my new camera necklace I bought on vacation. I painted it with clear nail polish because you never know how long it’s “silver” appearance will last. So, there’s my tip of the day.

Here’s a close up…

I absolutely can not take credit for that base. First, I must give credit to Mother Nature. Second, I must give credit to my husband. We searched our log pile and we finally found one with some nice bark. I think this is from an Oak tree. My husband cut me a slice ~~of pie~~ with his big saw. Isn’t it gorgeous? It’s really light too. I know it looks heavy, but it’s not.

The only thing I had to do to it, was sand it a little, and then I brushed on several coats of Minwax Helmsman Spar Urethane in clear gloss only on the flat sides, not on the bark (I left the bark alone). I found it to be thicker than regular polyurethane. In fact, that is what I am going to use on my next “Stump Table” (see below for all of my wood projects).

I also brushed a little urethane on the branches to make them look shiny.

Now, you may be wondering how the heck I got that branch to stick into the slice of wood.

It was quite simple. We drilled a hole with a bit that was as thick as the branch (1/4 in.). Then, I stuck it in while twisting with some strong glue and let it dry a couple days. That’s it.