DIY Tree Branch With Colorful Leaves Wall Art

We are now on the third day (of seven) of the wonderful Jewish holiday of Succot, and while I am not doing any crafting, I can stop by here to share my favorite succah decoration with you! And, unlike some Succah decorations, this one is truly a work of art, and can be used year round indoors, or for a special event or to mark a new season. You decide, but if you are anything like me, you won’t want to stop at just one, which I did not! After making the first version, a tree of life with gold leaves, I just had to make another colorful version with a gold trunk (previously the gold spray paint was not to be found) to fill a huge blank area in our Succah. And despite some scepticism from the peanut gallery, it turned out even more beautiful than the first one, and there is a very funny story that goes with it, which I’ll share soon. The main thing is to find a really great looking dead branch with lots of character as well as bunches of tiny branches, as that variety is what truly makes this piece special. Okay, want to make one yourself? Lets learn how!

You’ll Need:

a dead branch, that in itself is a work of art, mine is quite large and was already dead, I didn’t cut it, but rather found it
gold paint, I used spray paint because we had some on hand, but don’t recommend buying it, instead buy a can of metallic gold paint for painting metal
old unsuccessful paintings on watercolor paper or make some new “art” for this (see below how)
hot glue gun
wire, fishline etc. for hanging

How To:

First paint your branch, outdoors if using toxic paint of any kind, which is likely, so outdoors you go! Remove bark in some area if you can, those bald areas ended up looking like metal once painted as they are smooth. You don’t need to paint the other side if this is hanging on a wall, but you will want to paint any areas seen from the side. Set aside to dry.
To make the leaves, accordian fold pages of old artwork on heavy/watercolor paper. I had a bunch of paintings that I would never want to see on anyone’s wall (or my own) so using them this way is the perfect solution of what to do with them! If you don’t have any artwork like this, quickly apply layers of paint in colors that you love by using sponges, bubble wrap, fingers, stamps, a brayer, you name it, just get some pattern going with a mix of colors, so much fun!
Cut leaves with the fold of the paper generally going down the center of your leaves. This makes leaves dimensional, which looks much better than flat leaves, truly!
Apply leaves, with forethought regarding color and size placement, using hot glue. If you make a mistake leaves are easily peeled off, not to worry!
Make more leaves if you need to, take a step back, see if there are any glaring holes that need filling, and don’t go overboard, some spare areas with some more densely filled areas looks natural and interesting.
Enjoy!

Crafting in the kitchen!
The finished piece hung very securely in our Succah, and truly a source of joy for me, as I haven’t produced anything new and of this scale for our succah, well ever!