I made a sailboat last week.
Out of a branch and a twig,
part of my vintage ticking fabric,
and a couple of eyelet screws.
Quick and easy and sort of cute, if I may say so myself!
In a nutshell:
- I sawed a dead branch from our brush pile into a section roughly 16" long. If there's one thing I have an abundance of around here, it's dead tree branches
- I cut a twig to about 17" long
- Drilled a hole in the middle of the larger branch section
- Hot glued the twig into the hole
- Cut my fabric into a scalene triangle (I'll save you from running to find your geometry books - it's three different sized sides)
- Screwed the 2 eyelet screws into each end of the branch
- Sewed one end of the the triangles onto the eyelet screws
- Sewed the opposite bottom of the triangles onto the mast (aka twig in the middle)
- Sewed the top of the triangles to the top of the twig
- Then I cut out a double sided triangle to use as a top flag and hot glued it to the top
- Done
Took about 15 minutes. Most of the time was me trying to get the stupid needle threaded.
I really need to get some new eyes. Or wear my glasses.
Now, I'm a long way from the beach, so I used tree branches instead of driftwood, but I think it turned out OK.
You gotta work with what you've got! And here in the Midwest, we've got branches.
You can see how I've used my sailboat in different areas of my home over the years:
A Happy Little Sunflower Vignette
Summer Home Tour Eclectic Style
Easy American Flag Craft
And you can see lots and lots of other Quick And Easy DIY & Craft Projects HERE.
Liz
What a beautiful and easy idea.Thank you so much!
Marianne
I'm going to make one for my yard from a three foot piece of driftwood I found . It's going to look great in my garden .
Jennifer
Love this idea, I've been searching for driftwood, but I have a lot of white birch that I think would work using your idea. Thanks for sharing!!! 🙂
Katy
Thank you so much for this idea! I made one for my dad for Father's Day!!
https://goo.gl/photos/bk5SsKomMDUVfaV79
Pam
That is so cute!!! I bet he'll love it!
Cerice
Making this for a baby shower! Too cute?
Iro
And i was trying to figure out how to decorate my balcony!!!!
Thanks a lot!!!It is a great idea!!
Barbara
Pam,
I just had to tell you that I've made about a half dozen of these - different sizes for myself to sail in my regatta (a vignette on my entertainment center) and my granddaughter wanted one, then my DIL wanted one. So, it has been a very successful, popular craft for me. I kept mine so I can float it again when I do my "beach" or summer vignette.
Anne
It's perfect for those of us living on a lake~! Love it.
Barbara
I love the twiggy sailboat - rustic and easy to make, but a summer inspiration! Thanks for sharing! I'm going to get a small branch and start making one!
Pam
Thanks, Barbara. I'm all about quick and easy when it comes to crafts. If it takes me more than one sitting to finish it I lose interest 🙂
Shirley
I love this, it's so simple and easy to make! Great job!
Sarah Thornington
Oh how I love this! Being a portrait photographer on the beach I have just found my new favorite prop for the summer! All I need now is some sunshine and some fun children! Thank you!!!
Sarah Thornington
Posted my silly version of your gorgeous boat on my blog. Linked back to your directions. Thank you again!!!
Pam
Thanks! I'll come over and check it out!
Chiwei @ One Dog Woof
LOVE LOVE LOVE this!! I love the look and the cheap factor too. Not the "looking cheap", but the "cheap to put together" factor :-). Saw it on Hometalk 🙂