DIY Sticks of Color

Ever since I came across Ginnette Lapalame’s  colorful painted sticks, I’ve been eyeing every twig and branch that had the potential to become a piece of art. Painting sticks is an economical, not to mention eco, project that anyone can do at any given age or artistic skill level.  This DIY project is pretty self explanatory, but here are some helpful tips I’ve learned while painting…

What you need:

Sticks – I chose smoother ones-  larger in girth because I wanted to paint more intricate designs.   Skinnier sticks work well for simple designs, stripes and colorblocking.  I also paid close attention to length and shape.  I wanted something I can arrange in a bowl or mason jar, so picked out various girths that had some unique bends and rounded edges.  Also, I love how the lighter ash colors of birch and drift wood.

Paint – Bright colors!  The color scheme is totally up to you, but I’ve noticed that jewel tones, pastel, metalics and neon contrast well against the natural color of twigs.

Paint brushes – Use teeny tine brushes for more detail, medium for colorblocking and priming.

Cup of water – to clean your brushes

Paper towel – to dry them

Plate – as a palette to mix paint

Start by washing your twigs with soap and water.  If there’s old loose bark on the twig, peel them off. Paint wont stick to dirt and can old bark can easily chip off.

Prime your twig with white paint.  Priming you branches will make your colors more vivid and will save you some time from having to layer on colors.  You can start with sections and always come back to add more white if needed.  Some colors (such as neon) are very translucent making priming a must, while others (like pastels) can be more opaque.  However, I always recommend priming to get the brightest results.

Now’s the fun part:  Stripes, triangles, diamonds, zigzags, dots, and dashes! Decorate away!

Look how lovely Esthera’s and Ari’s turned out!

After finishing your piece of art, you can preserve it and protect it from water damage with a clear coat of varnish.

Happy painting!

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