Easy Wall Art Using Nature Finds
As y'all know we recently got a puppy 
. Since downsizing to a townhome the days of me being lazy & doggies 🐶 using the back yard in lieu of me getting exercise are a thing of the past. It's actually been quite lovely rather than a huge chore (the majority of the time anyway). In addition to all of us getting some exercise we're also getting to know our neighbors and nature.
Even in SWFL, 150 miles South of where the "tropical zone" begins we have pine trees.
During our walks I discovered several trees drop really interesting hard flower like pods. I was so intrigued that I reached out to a local gardening club whose members were super helpful in educating me. It seems this beautiful tree is a Southern Magnolia and what I found is known as a nut, although inedible by humans anyway.
The nut has many stages! Unopened it has a pear shape, it's various stages of open resemble flowers. Parts of the inside almost look like bugs; but somehow not gross. The exterior is VERY hard- think Magnolia wood. The interior is more delicate.
Using hot glue, I glued a piece of the interior Magnolia shell lining on top of the vertical slit in the pine cone. Paint in a light teal was added to the entire pine cone and magnolia piece.
Gold dots were added to the middle of each bump on the pine cone and the front peacock features added to the Magnolia piece.
Not pictured here. I added additional smaller dots on top of the gold thus giving the appearance of a peacock feather.
While the pine cone dried I painted two V shaped pieces of Magnolia nut in the same colors and layout as the pine cone. When they were dry I arranged them so they'd fit appropriately with the pine cone and liberally added hot glue.
Not pictured: Using one part of a two piece wooden garden ornament thing from Dollar Tree. I started by separating the two pieces. Next, using very diluted paint I painted both sides of the "flower" until the desired color was achieved then replaced the string that came with it.
Once all paint was dry I glued the feathers to the pine cone followed by gluing the entire peacock to the flower.
I gave this to a peacock loving friend as part of her birthday gift.
Overall it's relatively light and could probably be hung on a strong branch of a Christmas tree. I added the wooden background so it could be hung on a wall without getting lost.
I hope you enjoyed this. While pine cones and/or magnolia trees may not be found where you live, this is about being creative with what you have. I had the paint, glue and wood already but even if you need to purchase them new, this could easily be done for $5 or less.
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