Jillibean Soup Bean Talk: Spring Tree and Star Tutorial with Jenifer Harkin

December 21, 2015

Spring Tree and Star Tutorial with Jenifer Harkin

Good morning Jillibean Soup fans! Have you ever found a box of junk and thought what the heck am I going to do with this? I hope to inspire you in a way that gets you thinking outside of that box of junk and to think of a way that it can be re-purposed. Re-purposing items is one of my absolute favorite things to do because it involves two things that I love: junking/thrifting and creating!

Let's start off with what I found in my boxes of junk, for I have many boxes of junk! I gathered a handful of springs, potential star tree toppers, Jillibean Soup Wood Plank, and some adhesive glue designed for metal and wood. In this case, I had both E6000 and Duco Cement; however, I chose to use the E6000 glue because it had a smaller applicator tip.

I decided some of my springs were too shiny. Time for a science experiment! I mixed one part vinegar and two parts bleach in a plastic container and placed the shiny springs in, fully submerging them. This method works best on tin and iron items. I left the springs in the mixture for 30 minutes or so and did some laundry or made supper or both. During that time, the metal springs took on a nice crunchy rust cover.

After removing the springs, I laid them out to dry on paper towels. The difference was amazing! Science can be fun:)

Once I had the desired patina on the springs, I placed them in a pattern of a Christmas tree shape and a star. Then, I glued each spring and a clay star tree topper onto the Jillibean Soup Wood Planks.