DIY- Semi Precious Gemstone & Driftwood Sail Boat Tutorial
Haley Mindes Friday, November 14, 2014 at 11:01AM 
Wood before it was bleached.
Inspiration can strike at any time. I was walking on a path near the west side highway in NYC and noticed what appeared to be driftwood. In actuality they were just sticks washed up from the Hudson River - lots of them, almost a mile long to choose from. My first thought was to make a mobile or window hanging with them by using random gemstones I have left over from other projects.
Wood after it was bleached.
As soon as I returned home, with the bundle of specifically picked sticks, I put them in the bath tub to soak them in bleach. This is not only to kill any bugs and germs that may be in the wood but to give them that driftwood look.
Two pieces nailed together, with screw eyes in place.
Since I had settled on the idea for a mobile that involves using my nephew's matchbox cars, that were not in my home, I had to come up with another plan for my pseudo driftwood that I could get started on immediately. So... what happened next was the gemstone sail boat.
I hammered a long nail through the bottom piece of wood into the vertical piece and secured it with some glue. I suppose I could have been neater with the glue. I then bought small screw eyes from my local hardware store and screwed them in where I wanted the gemstone sails to be tied. The screws went into the wood fairly easily, just by pushing and twisting, no tools needed.
Gemstones are knotted on string and tied to screw eyes.
Then I tied string to the top screw eyes and started knotting some glass and semi precious gemstones I had sitting around in a small dish, just waiting for a purpose.
Haley's semi precious wooden gemstone sail boat.
This is how it turned out- meet the semi precious gemstone driftwood sail boat! Need to come up with a better name. I should have a Sheffield School student contest with photo entries of creative ways to use leftover jewelry materials.
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