When we started working on the Forest Story, we knew it was going to be one of our feature tables at market-- the rich inspiration and sheer abundance of the woods gave the design team ample opportunity for crafting a show-stopping display. Along with our paper mushrooms, these paper logs were a crowd favorite; no one could believe we made them! These darling stumps are a great addition to your fall decor, and are easy enough to make, you’ll have a hard time not making an entire forest!
Getting Started
Trees come in many shapes and sizes, so your crafted logs can be made in whatever size best fits your space or intended use. For our market display, we knew we needed to fill the firebox of an antique mantle, so we started by measuring the space to fill. Once we had those measurements, we used painters tape to mark off the same size rectangle in our studio –– this allowed us to place logs as we crafted them and test how they looked as a group and see what sizes would work best in the display.
The next step is to gather your materials, as follows:
Cardboard
Dark brown paint
Offwhite paint
Rag
Pencil
Hot glue gun & sticks
Scissors or a boxcutter
Paintbrushes (various sizes)
How much cardboard you’ll need is dependent on the space you need to fill. We ship and receive so much at H&C Headquarters, we recycled boxes from work to make all of our logs. Alternatively, you can buy single side corrugated cardboard to make the sides of your logs if you can’t find a box big enough for your needs. However, you will still need some scrap cardboard to make the tops and bottoms of your logs.
Timber Time!
Gather your cardboard and prepare it for crafting: flatten any boxes, remove packing tape, etc. Determine what your longest pieces are –– these will be your sides.
Remove the top layer of your cardboard to reveal the corrugation. Soak a washcloth in water, then wipe down an area of your box until it’s fully saturated (it’s easier to work in small pieces, approximately 5” square, at a time).
Wait a few seconds, then carefully peel up the top layer of cardboard. Repeat until you have fully stripped the box, then set aside.
Next, draw two equal sized circles on your cardboard in pencil. We traced various objects around the office for our logs: plates, rolls of tape, ribbon spools. Cut out your circles to make the top and bottom of your log. Ideally, one side will be plain-- this will be the top piece.
Embellish your top piece with extra pieces of cardboard to give it a rugged, “just cut” look. Trace and cut another matching circle, then cut approximately in half with a curve that mimics the side.
Trace and cut a match for your new piece, then cut this in half with another curve.
Layer your pieces with the largest, full circle on the bottom, then the two smaller cuts on top, lining up your edges. Attach with glue and allow to set.
Determine how tall you’d like your log to be, and cut one of your stripped pieces to that height –– be sure the corrugation is running vertically up the height of your log! Roll this piece into a tight tube to prepare it for shaping; this will make it more flexible. Unroll, then wrap around one of your circles to create the sides. Mark the end (with a slight overlap), then cut to size.
Assemble your log by drawing a thick line of hot glue along the inside edge (flat side) of your side piece, then placing your top circle (embellished side up!) on the hot glue and wrapping to form a cylinder.
Continue gluing, waiting for it to set, until you’ve fully attached the circle to the side piece. Repeat with the other circle to form the bottom of your log.
Rip or cut irregular shapes from the scraps of your stripped cardboard.
Attach these pieces with more hot glue at random (or to cover blemishes!) on the sides of your log to give the “bark” more texture.
Using a wide brush, paint a light coat of dark brown on the sides of your log. It does not have to be perfect! We used a coarse brush to add even more texture to this layer, and the corrugation allows a great variance in the paint to make the “bark” more realistic.
Use a small brush with the off-white paint to paint concentric circles on the top of your log to give the appearance of tree rings.
Once everything is dry, admire your creations, then style with dried moss and paper mushrooms to create a woodland wonderland!
PS: to add a branch, repeat these steps, just making a mini log! You only need to attach the top circle to your side piece, since the “bottom” will be joined to your log.
Cut across the bottom of your branch at an angle, then glue to the side of your log to attach.
PPS: Need a cheat sheet? Print off our printable quick guide for an easy reference while making your forest.