As for what steps you should take before you start your work on crafting the driftwood, there are multiple different methods that include boiling, heating and chemically disinfecting. These of course take place after you have doen your visual inspection and wiped off stuff like sand, dirt and debris. All of the cleaning procedures have their downside in my opinion, boiling can negatively impact the wood itself (remember that old commercial- water on wood ah ah no good), heating can actually lead to burning, and chemical is well chemically and not an organic process. Plus, boiling and chemically treating require that you place the driftwood into a container, and this is impractical with bigger pieces.

Still, it needs to be done in order to eliminate molds, parasites and fungi that may or may not be visible. I will leave the choice to you to determine which of them is the best of the bunch.

During the first few years the number of participants remained pretty much the same. Nobody had any complaints about this, and I am quite certain that had a few of the group had their way nobody else would have ever been admitted to the club. And in some ways this was for good reason.

By keeping the number small there was a chance for each person to interact on a meaningful level with every other person at the event. A real camaraderie evolved that can be truly difficult to come by in adulthood. Really I believe every one of us felt as though we had known each other our whole lives, and with this special situation the idea of messing it up by letting strangers in seemed too great a risk to some.

On the other hand, folks like me recognised that by bringing in newcomers we might tap into some fresh ideas, learn that there was more to be explored, and just possibly make some additional good friends at the same time. Sure, we debated these points back and forth for a bit longer than I would have cared to, but ultimately the die were cast in my favour.

Three years ago we reopened membership, held our cumulative breaths and waited. Prior to that year’s barbecue we had a whopping eighteen new members join. And at our regular meetings things seemed to be going amazingly well. But, at the time when we started to prepare for the barbecue the older members, and myself included crossed our fingers that things would feel like the old times.

I am extremely happy to report that all went very smooth that year, and I have never heard a complaint from any of the original members about having taken the step to enlarge the club. Turns out the only issue we encountered was that we had to find a bigger space for all of our meetings, and more patio furniture for the barbeque. Neither proved to be troublesome as one new member gained us access to an elementary school cafeteria for the meetings, and another donated the money for us to acquire the furniture. So, I would like to just say thank you to all the early members for being brave, and to all the newer members for being great.

Unfortunately, there have already been pieces I have designed and sold, or given as gifts that I did not capture in a photo. So, already I can feel the strain of disappointment over that now. Thus, I am committing time next week to building an album with pictures of my driftwood art. I have lined up a professional photographer to ensure that everything turns out well.

Thus, I am sharing this lesson with all of you. Get pictures of your driftwood masterpieces before it is too late. They are like individual trophies, and can also help to serve as future inspiration. Not to mention, they show your personal artistic progression.

No more excuses, even if all you do is take simple snapshots. Memorialize this stuff, because if it is important enough to fill long hours of your life, it is important enough to keep images of too.

I know that the mass marketed items are not the real deal. For, a large part of what makes driftwood items special is the process of reclaiming them and reinvigorating them. For a unique piece of furniture made from driftwood, you should consider looking for a joiner that specialises in using driftwood to make individual pieces of furniture. There are many designs and types of furniture that can be made from driftwood with a number of articles with tips online to explore. To make carbon copy pieces is no substitute. Still, on the other hand, there is a part of me that is excited by the prospect of others finally embracing the beauty of driftwood also. I guess I just wish it was created through a more authentic and thus personal process.

This was the case when a friend of mine gave me a copy of a book of poetry titled Fires of Driftwood penned by Isabel Ecclestone Mackay. I had been given the book a month before and it had proudly sat on my coffee table patiently waiting to be cracked open. I had not forgotten it; instead I was saving it for a time when I was all alone, so that the verses and a wonderful red wine would be my only companions for the better part of an evening. Choosing a red wine can be a difficult task as there is a wide variety of wines available. It is important that you have decent wine merchants nearby to ensure that you have a good collection of red wines in your cellar to suit any occasion.

The night was superb, and so enjoyable I just had to share the fact that the book itself can be read for free on a website called Fullbooks. I personally like to read directly from a book, but would rather you sample it online and then seek out the physical book, than you never experience it at all.

Then while basking in the sun one afternoon I thought how nice the proper piece of driftwood would look hanging on the exterior of our house. After putting the correct sealant on the wood it would become the perfect place to hang our wet bathing suits to dry, and raincoats and damp winter jackets too. Then when not in use, it would be a lovely decorative addition. Before I had much time to ponder the task, I was completing it.

One of the best parts was that I already had a nice old sturdy branch to work with. Not to mention that there was no need for me to buy a single element for the project. Considering the only things required were some nails, a saw, and sealant.

Only thing now is that I am itching for another project. I actually wish this last one had taken more effort and time.

A nice place to begin working with driftwood is to make small decorative trees to hang holiday decorations. Thus, for years after you design the piece you will put it to use, and that is a very gratifying feeling. This project will help you to get a feel for working with this material. Spain is a large producer of driftwood with trees scattered across the country. If you are staying in Madrid, you will see many guest-houses and designer luxury hotels in Madrid decorated with natural local driftwood.

In between holidays they make excellent places to hang postcards, or family photos. Simply punch a hole in one corner and thread ribbon, twine or raffia through and create a loop to hang from. Once you master this, the trees will also make very sweet gifts.

Considering how common many indoor lights seem today, this distinctive creation stands apart. Now, if only my home were not already filled to the brim I would personally be considering this driftwood chandelier as an addition. This of course would occur after I attempted to make my own and failed miserably at the replication. No matter, for those of you with space to fill, I recommend this alternative to other more traditional lights.

What makes the trees so appealing, other than being made of driftwood, but the artistic and meticulous manner in which it has been positioned. In fact, some of the pieces in the collection do not have crosses on the top, so you could definitely leave them out for show all year long. I should mention that these decorative trees are part of a limited edition Christmas collection, so there is no telling if there will be more, or others available next year.

Since these trees were the first thing I saw on the Wooden Zone webpage, I will now return to browse the rest of their collections. Looks like they have some very interesting stuff for both the interior and exterior. Nice to see they have pieces in both their pure forms and burnished with oil.