By Chelsea Gray
If there's one trend that has really taken off over the past few years, it's all things Cottagecore...and it doesn't seem to be going anywhere anytime soon (luckily for all of us who adore it so much!).
I recently threw a dark cottagecore/spooky fairytale baby shower and wanted to create an entry sign for guests that both pointed them toward the festivities and gave them an immediate sense of what to expect from the theme awaiting them inside. This project is NOT baby shower specific, so if you're throwing a cottage-themed get-together of any kind - a birthday party, tea party, bridal shower, Halloween party (it'll be here before we know it, folks!), you name it - this is an easy way to make a big statement with your decor for your event.
This was actually a very simple DIY to create, and most of the materials are things you'll likely already have around your house and in your yard! So, let's get into it...
Into the Woods
The first step is to select a fallen branch, or cut one down, from your property. You want a bit of a scraggly, imperfect one with cool bark to get the right look; you certainly don't need a full-blown tree for this project. If your event is going to be indoors, be careful to select something that isn't wet or rotted, as it will be more likely to contain bugs that you could bring inside. It is not recommended to remove even fallen branches or pre-cut trees from parks or public woods and walking trails without explicit permission, so if you don not have access to these materials from your own property, try asking a friend who does or see if your local nursery/plant shop has any they'd be willing to give away. If all else fails, purchase an artificial branch/tree from a craft or home decor store.
Making Your Signs
Next, you'll need boards to make your signs. I went with a total of four, but feel free to use more or less depending on the design you're going for. I just so happened to have a pile of pre-painted shiplap on our property from our kitchen demo a few years ago, so I lucked out with naturally distressed boards that I didn't have to paint or prep much. Of course, this won't be the case for a majority of you, so as an alternative, head to your local hardware store or lumberyard for cheap, thin plywood or pine boards. The less finished the wood is, the better. It will look more rustic the more flaws it has, so don't worry too much about buying the sanded, treated stuff without knots or imperfections.
If you own a table saw, you can select any wood you'd like and cut down to your desired dimensions. If not, don't worry! Hardware stores sell pre-cut boards approximately the length and width of what you'd need for this project (or they can make cuts in the store for your from longer boards or sheets of plywood if you ask).
Once you have the boards the size you want them, you'll need to cut one end of each board into a point to create the arrow shape. I used my bandsaw for this step, but a variety of power saws (jigsaw, circular saw, etc.) would work just as well depending on what you have; and if you don't have any, even a handsaw will do the trick...it'll just require a bit more elbow grease.
Now it's time to paint or stain your boards any color you'd like. For a more distressed, rustic look, I recommend using a textured paint like milk paint or chalk paint, sand parts of it off to mimic natural chipping, and/or use a dark furniture wax (or even mud or dirt) on top of the paint to dinge up your sign.
For my design, I went with a Little Red Riding Hood theme and did four signs pointing in different directions: "Grandma's Cottage", "Baby Shower", "Big Bad Wolf", and "The Woods." This is where you have as much creative freedom as your heart desires and where you should customize wording to fit the theme of your specific event. I recommend using a paint pen for the lettering, as it's much easier than using a paint brush in my opinion; but if you've got the skills, go for it!
The Assembly
The quick, easiest way to get your branch to stand upright is by using a Christmas tree stand. Don't worry if it's an ugly one - you can cover the stand with greenery or a blanket, set it in a large basket or pot, etc. Now that your base is ready to go, it's time to add the hardware you'll need to hang your signs and decorate the finished product properly.
For this step, I reached for my trusty OOK Hardware All-Inclusive Picture Hanging Kit. All of the hangers in this kit use a ReadyNail system, so the nail is held in place for you, which makes hammering the hardware into your work surface SO much easier, especially when using the smaller hangers.
I used the sawtooth hangers for the back of each of my signs, being usre to center them in the middle of the board. The kit comes with 6 of these so I had plenty for this project. Since my signs are made from thin plywood and are very lightweight, I chose the smallest picture hanger hooks in the kit to nail into the branch itself. Once you have these in place up the length of your branch, you can hang your signs from the sawtooth hanger onto each hook.
I personally love the crooked look for this project, so I tipped mine off balance for a more natural effect, but if that's not your thing, feel free to hang yours nice and straight. The hardware used will make it possible for you to do either! The best part is that the hardware makes the signs easily removable from the branch for travel, so if you're responsible for for toting this large decorative piece to an event space or someone else's home for a party, it's very easy to disassemble, transport, and reassemble quickly once you're ready to set up.
The Final Details
The last step is optional, but I think it takes it to the next level (and helps hide your Christmas tree stand as well). You can leave your stand bare at this stage, OR you can wrap real or faux greenery (or florals) around it. I opted to wrap mine with artificial English ivy, and I used OOK 7/8 in Black Cup Hook to secure the stems in place as I worked up the branch. The hooks really helped keep the greenery where I wanted it to be. I noticed without them, the vines were sliding down and bunching together, leaving large awkward sections of bare tree where I didn't want it, instead of creating the crawling effect I was able to achieve using the hooks as an anchor point. Having one at the top of your branch is especially important. You don't need a lot of them either. I believe in staggering only about 5 or 6 up the length of mine.
It may sound like a lot of steps, but I promise you this was one of the easiest DIYs I've ever done, and it took less than 2 hours from start to finish - from a dead branch in our yard to THIS ultra-whimisical statement piece. While it may have been made for a baby shower, I'm too in love with how this came out to never use it again. I'll replace the "Baby Shower" sign with something else so I can repurpose this as a Halloween decoration this year for sure!
