Reclaimed Wooden Snowflake, Featured on "Studio 5"

I was asked to tackle the Reclaimed Wooden Snowflake by Studio 5 for a West Creek Design segment.

Immediately I was smitten! I heart anything that involves reclaimed wood. I started hunting around my garage for scrap wood and bought the rest of the wood I needed from Lowe's. My go to for any type of wood decor project is the cedar fence slats from Lowe's. They're priced at $1.16 a piece for a 6ft board. You'll need 7 for this project. You can't beat that deal. (Unless It's  free)

I loved the post on My Altered State's blog. She has been building these reclaimed snowflakes for quite a while and had very easy instructions, that I followed to build mine.

I figured out the dimensions for the size of the wooden snowflake. I knew I wanted it 3ft in diameter. So started making my cuts. 

You need....

-3 long boards (36" long)
-3 short boards (24" long)
-3 lg V's (6- 45 degree cuts)
-3 sm V's (6- 45 degree cuts)
-6 triangles

After everything is cut, I layed it out to make sure the pattern would work.

My favorite way to add texture and depth to a wood project is with paint. For this project I started with a dark walnut stain and covered the wood. I let it dry overnight. 

Next I went back and forth over the board with a block of paraffin wax. Then I covered the board with white paint. After it was dry, I placed a piece of duct tape over the white paint. Then I took my blow dryer and heated the duct tape. After you've heated up the duct tape, press it down and smooth it out with your hands. Now peel it away and you will get an amazing chippy reclaimed look.

Next, I marked the center of each of the boards. The center Mark is where the boards will intersect, keeping everything symmetrical.

I started out one board at a time, attaching the embellishments on each end. You can attach the embellishments the V's) with glue (you can't go wrong with gorilla glue). I love the look of screws, but be sure to drill pilot holes or the wood will split on you. You can also use a nail gun. I love the ease and speed of the nail gun. It's very secure and doesn't split the wood.

After each of the the boards have their embellishments, start with the long boards and make an X shape. Attach with glue, screws or your nail gun.  Now take the final long board and attach it down the middle of the X. Be sure to line up the marks on the middle of the boards. 

Next start with the smaller boards and do the same thing.  Now you have a beautiful reclaimed wood snowflake!