DIY Driftwood Sunburst

This is the tag team post to my previous one with the stencil above the headboard in our master bedroom. I have wanted to do this for such a long time now and it felt so good to see it through to completion. The reason why I have wanted to do a sunburst with driftwood? Well we are big beach people.....not sit on the beach and get a tan type people (although I secretly love that....the Hubs not so much), we are more the type to go with the fam (dogs included) and do a beach hike. We are very lucky to live in an area that has tons of places to do this and we didn't slow down even when I was ginormo prego (both times). Check out this belly awesomeness.....

Yes, there was a ginormo baby in there too.....all 9 lbs and 4 oz of him. As I got bigger (and subsequently slower...hehehe) the Hubs would always find me a great walking stick from the driftwood at the beach. I would use it the whole time we were walking for extra stability and because I loved the pieces he always seemed to find, I typically threw them in the back of the truck and brought them home with me. He would always ask, with a raised eyebrow, what I was going to do with them and I never really had an answer. Until, I started looking at various wreaths and sunburst mirrors online. I knew instantly that the walking sticks would be a beautiful addition and reminder of my prego days and of those long walks thinking (and often talking to) the lil' bambino growing inside.

To start, I measured the space above the headboard to make sure I created something that would be the right scale for the wall. Then I brought the sticks downstairs to the workshop for cutting and arranging. I cut the sticks to the desired lengths leaving about two inches variance between each piece. I did this to create variety and a less uniform look to the whole sunburst.

I played around with the arrangement and added in skinnier sticks and thicker sticks sporadically to give a more organic feel. Next up was figuring out what I was going to adhere these all to! As my eyes scanned the workshop, I noticed a big empty plastic jug of Folgers and had an AHA moment. I popped the lid off and cut out the center. Instant grayish colored wreath! At that point it was as simple as picking up a piece of wood and dotting some glue down. I worked all the way around and then let it sit for about an hour to set.

It puts a smile on my face every time I see it. What a great reminder of how special this time of my life is! Now off to chase those two lil' meatballs!