Driftwood Into Art

I love being outside. I love spending time along the of rivers in my beautiful state. Heck, I love anything that has to do with rivers and water. So naturally I wanted to bring some of that good time feeling into my living space. I thought out of the box on this one because I had to. There really are few ways to display large pieces of nature inside a house so I made this one work. It happend while we were camping along one of said rivers and I kept finding pieces of driftwood that I loved so much I had to bring them home.  It is quite easy to install and if you have a handyman hanging around it makes it that much easier. But this is an easy project for anyone who can turn a screwdriver!

You will need:
Driftwood or any wood
Pencil
picture hanger things
screws
screwdriver
alligator wall anchors

Now if you arent as lucky as I am to have river edges at your beck and call, a cool branch from a local tree or a much needed road trip to a river area is your best bet. I happend to find my best pieces in the early summer after the spring run off has left the driftwood high and dry, but anytime of year is a good time to be around rivers. Just be careful! Watch the water flow and take precautions as needed!

Take a look at  your piece. How will it look on the wall? Which side will look best out and which side fits better up against the wall? Then hold your piece against the wall or have someone else do it so you can see what it looks like. Get it where you like it.  Then get a pencil and mark on the wall where your piece touches. Also mark on your wood where it touches the wall. Mark as many spots that touch the wall for a more stable hanging.

I found that using picture hanger things was invisible and didn't harm my wood. I got these at Wal-Mart for $1.99.
On your pencil marks, attach the picture hanger things to your wood.
Put screws in the wall on your wall marks. We had to use alligator drywall anchors because our hanger things didn't match up with any studs.
Now you are ready to hang!
Enjoy!