04.07
2011

Hanging Branch Tutorial
Well, this weekend we finally added the branch to the nursery so it is now completely done. Now we just need our little munchkin to hurry up and get here. Just three and a half more weeks until she’s due, but I am certainly hoping she comes a little bit earlier.  When we did the branch in Lillie’s room a month or so ago we got a lot of questions about how we did it, so I am going to do my best to show you. This is one of my favorite projects because I love the natural element it provides and it was FREE! Well, the one in the nursery was free, the one in Lillie’s room I did have to buy the cardstock for the birds but otherwise it was free. Also, I know you all are probably getting sick of seeing photos of our house as that has been all the last several posts have been about. My next two posts will be some fun project ones –  I promise!
First, here is what it looks like in the nursery now:
   

And here is the original one we did in Lillian Annabel’s room:
  

 
So here’s how we did it:
1) First we went out in the woods and collected a few different branches to try. Once we held them up in the nursery and found the one we liked best we started spray-painting it.  Lillie seemed to think the more paint she could get on her feet the better!

2) Completely coat your branch to get it how you want. (For the one in Lillie’s room I wanted it to look like birch tree branch so I just did a light coating on it and let a lot of the natural branch color show through. For the one in the nursery I wanted it to be completely ivory colored so we thoroughly covered it in paint.)

We got a lot of e-mails wondering what color and brand spray paint we used for our egg topiaries and wreaths so I thought for this project I would make sure to include this information (this is a different color than we used for the topiaries). Anyway, it is from Lowe’s and is by Valspar. The color is Churchill Hotel Vanilla and the finish is Satin. I used this spray paint for another project a while back and did NOT like how it looked, however I was really happy with how it looked on the branch.

3) Once the branch was dry it was time to hang it from the ceiling. For Lillie’s room I had used two hooks similar to this one but smaller. (I didn’t feel like hauling the ladder upstairs and climbing it just to get a good picture so I thought I would take a photo of the closest thing I had to it. Please note, though, the hooks I used in Lillie’s room were much smaller!)

I didn’t have any of the small hooks left when I hung the one in the nursery so I just used two of these:

 4) Once I had the two hooks/screws safely in the ceiling I tied on some clear plastic wire. For the ones in the nursery I tied it around the base of the screw and then tightened the screw all the way into the ceiling so hold the clear wire tight. For the hooks, I just tied the clear wire in triple knots onto the hook.

5) Next I held the branch to about where I wanted it and tied each of the wires to the branch so that the branch was now hanging suspended from the ceiling.  (In the photo below I heighted the contrast so you could really see the clear wire hanging and where it is tied onto the branch. You an also see the brown string hanging from the branch as well, which I will get to next).
 
6) Once your branch is securely hanging from the ceiling it is time to hang the birds. For Lillie’s room I used nine birds cut out from cardstock. For the nursery I used seven  birds cut out in fabric and I used a heat transfer to iron them together so they would be thicker and wouldn’t just flop all over seeing how the fabric was so lightweight.  Then I punched a small hole in the top wing and just used regular sewing thread to hang each bird from the branch. For the nursery I used a light brown thread to help blend in with the wall color and in Lillie’s room I used a light gray thread. It really helps using a thread color close to your wall color so that when you look at the branch and birds you don’t even notice any of the string you just notice the branch and birds.
 
And there you have it! And as you can see in these two photos, which I did not do any photoshopping to,  you can barely see the thread at all (you can see the clear wire a little bit, but that is just because it is pretty thick to make sure it holds the branch up).
 
The weather here has been beautiful the past few days and we have been spending most of our days and evenings down in Colonial Williamsburg.  Here is Lillie getting ready to head out for a picnic on Monday. She informed me she needed her sunglasses and backpack and off she went to find them. She thought she was pretty cool!

And here she is with her horse friends:

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39 thoughts on “Hanging Branch Tutorial”

  1. i could never get sick of looking at pictures of your gorgeous house! lillie looks adorable in her glasses! hope that baby gets here soon for you! i can't wait to hear the name you pick!

  2. This is one of my favorite things in this room, so creative… I too can't wait to see the baby…have a great day

    ~~Pattie~~

  4. This is such a great natural element in the room. The baby will love looking at and it looks beautiful in the room. Your Lillie is so cute and these photos of her are amazing!

    Have a great day!
    Sherry

  5. Such a beautiful idea! I'll definitely do that in my little Izzy's big girl room 🙂

    And, the pictures of your little on with the horse… breath-takingly sweet. Hmmm… I'm pretty sure I botched that word 😀

    Also, I've posted my very first giveaway, which I think is TOTALLY up your alley. I'd love for you to stop by and check it out!

    Shelley
    http://www.westermanfam.blogspot.com

  6. Hi!! thank you so much for your well wishes for me and baby Daniel!

    I just saw last night Fifi's feature on you and your product line…tha't so awesome…

    I'm such a lover of b/w photography…and those of your daughter and the horse are frame worthy

    xo+blessings,
    Anne Marie

  8. Love love love this! thank you again for another fabulous tutorial of yours…I always look forward to them! The pic of Lillie with her little hand on the horses nose is sooo presh! Hope all is well!
    Terrell

  9. That looks so gorgeous. I never get tired of looking at your home and Lillie gets more beautiful every day.

  10. so darling! i would love to do this, and now – thank you, kindly – i have instructions! and i never grow tired of seeing your home…it is inspirational! -xok.

  11. oh my goodness, what an enchanting Blog you have! Your clothes are just adorable and I love the nursery, pure magic! I LOVE especially the photo of your little girl with the horses, a girl after my own heart 🙂 Wishing you all the best for the arrival of your new little one, Catherine x

  12. I love your blog. Everything looks enchanting and if I had a baby girl I'd totally do this in her nursery. So classy 🙂

  15. your brother cracks me up! pesky little thing huh?! he has to be a riot!

    i love the branches and would love to do this somewhere in my house…as i have a slight obsession with the birds!

    thanks for the tutorial!

  16. I will never tire of seeing photos of your home. It is lovely.
    both the nursery and Lillie's room are just beautiful. What a wonderful space for any child to grow up in.
    I do have one question. Where did you get your template for your birds? I have been looking for a bird with that profile for a while now and can't seem to find a good silhouette profile.

  17. Thank you for taking the fear out of doing projects like this! A beautiful idea, made simple for even a newbie like me! Here's to bravery, daring, and a sense of adventure!

  19. Your home is amazing and please please please don't stop showing pictures of your home! It is one of the most beautiful homes in all of Blogland. Thanks for the tutorial. I love this idea!!!
    Blessings
    Jenn

  20. Love the hanging branch and beautiful birds. I am going to try this. Thanks for the tutorial. No, we are not tired of seeing photos of your house. I love it! Please post more and more of Lillie, too. She is so adorable in those big sunglasses and also cute leggings and ruffled skirt. You dress her so darling and very chic. Not too long to go now before your new little one arrives. I hope you're feeling well, Jenni.

  21. I love your home, your photography, your blog, and Colonial Williamsburg! My family is from Ky and we like to visit Williamsburg but it has been awhile since we have went due to the bad winters we have had. We haven't had a spring break the past few years. The last time we were there they were filming John Adams, so it has been awhile. One of my funnier memories is of a ram or goat chewing my insulin pump tubing in half. I wasn't looking down and he just chewed the thing in two. LOl Also another funny note, my husband's grandparents are named William and Mary Smith. I will be praying for you and your little one to have an easy and healthy delivery.

  22. Okay, I'm a little late in the game it looks like, but I just found your blog and it is a-ma-zing!! Makes me want to have a sweet baby girl and decorating all kinds of things for her…what an inspiration your home is! Xo, Katie

  23. I never get tired of looking at your pictures! No matter what they are! I love Lillie in her Princess dress! We have a few of those! I got your email and will email you back! We are in Tennessee visiting the grandparents on our farm. I am taking some pictures of Jemma in her Je'taime shirt out in the fields if she will cooperate! I have to tell her to pretend to be a fairy or a French ballerina to get her to perform! Ha! Have a great week!

  25. i love the pics but i was just wondering…where did you get the mannequin in the baby's room it's very pretty

  27. Ohhh Jennifer…..Lillie is so gorgeous! What a doll. You are so blessed to have that little darling running around all day! She is going to love being a big sister!!! ANd I will not be trying your lovely branch tutorial as I can see I would royaly mess it up:) not so crafty!

  30. Thank you for sharing! I really love this idea! And you make me believe that even I can do it! LOVE your ideas and creativity!

  31. Thank you all for your sweet words!

    Jas – you are a funny one – believe it or not I actually did put safety over design. I had planned on putting the branch above the crib as more of like a mobile but then had a nightmare about it falling on her in the night so I didn't dare.

    Jenni – yes, he is quite the character and quite hilarious in small doses. He is going to take over the business side of Dear Lillie after he graduates from Notre Dame this spring and getting daily doses of him may drive me insane – haha!

    Cheryl – I got the template from Silhouette America's website. I am not sure if you can get to the page where you download the artwork unless you have a machine, though.

    Frito – the mannequin is from ebay and I just painted the wood top and base in Ballet White by Benjamin Moore to make it look a little nicer. Pottery Barn Teen has one that I have been wanting for years now but it is quite expensive ($200) and you can get these ones on Ebay that look similar but just need a little touching up to look more unique for anywhere from $30 to $80! I think I got the one in the nursery for $39, maybe? My pregnant memory is not the best – haha!

    Risa – the crib was a gift from Jon's parents and came from a store in Florence, SC called Katie Mac.

  32. I tell you, Lillie is destined to be a fashion model. I hope there's a lot of height in your family! 🙂

    The branch idea is so simple and pretty. You are good, girl.

  37. Wow, it must be nice to have a mom that cares so much…I have pinned this everywhere possible. Thanks.

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