This fancy jewelry tree makes a great gift for a friend or sibling, who will have a blast adorning its branches with all of her silvery chains, beaded necklaces, and pretty bracelets.
| Prep Time: About 2 to 3 hours | |
| What you need: | |
| 4 (2-ounce) packages of polymer clay
Aluminum foil Metal washer (2 1/2 inches wide) Forked tree branch, dry and clean with a base about 3/4 inch wide Tacky glue Felt Acrylic paint and paintbrush | |
| Seasons: Year round | |
| Materials: aluminum foil, clay | |
| Instructions: | |
| 1. |  Make a tree stand. Working on a doubled sheet of aluminum
foil, knead the clay and shape it into a mound (about 4 inches
across and 1 1/2 inches thick in the center). Press the metal
washer into the bottom of the clay to add weight, as
shown. |
| 2. |  Trim the branch to a suitable size for your stand (ours
measured about 1 foot tall and 15 inches wide) and remove any
loose bark. Use the base of the branch to make a hole centered in
the top of the stand. Turn the branch slightly as you push it
into the clay fairly deeply but not all the way. |
| 3. | Remove the branch and bake the clay (with the foil under it) on a baking sheet according to the package directions, at 275 degrees for about 30 minutes per 1/4 inch of thickness. |
| 4. | When the baked clay has cooled, glue a circle of felt to the bottom. Finish up by reinserting the branch (adding a dab of glue if it is loose) and painting the tree any color you like. To ensure the jewelry tree stays intact, you may want to simply tie a ribbon around the base rather than package it in a box. |
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