Faux Birch Bark Paper Craft

With the natural look being all the rage in interior design I keep seeing more, and more, signs around the cities, and towns here in Alaska, asking people to refrain from peeling the bark off the birch trees in, and around, our public parks. The reason being, if you peel a strip of bark all the way around a birch tree it will kill the tree. So, I thought I should tell people how to make faux birch bark for their arts, crafts, and interior decor, projects. I've included a photo of some real birch bark to give you an idea of how you can make your project look more realistic.

You will need:

brown wrapping paper or brown paper shopping bags,white wrapping or packing tissue, white glue such as elmers school glue and for a more realistic look you can also use bits of charcoal

Rip chunks of white tissue paper and glue it to the brown wrapping paper unevenly. You don't have to glue the tissue all the way to the edges either, the sloppier you are with tearing the tissue and placing it the more realistic the birch bark will look.

Natural birch bark also has what looks like small black lines, and circles in it, so gluing small pieces of charcoal the size of pen nibs, and some long thin pieces about the half the thickness of of pencil lead, here and there, will add to the authenticity of the look. You can even keep adding tissue for a couple more layers to keep it realistic.

When the paper is dry you can use it as you would real birch bark for your craft projects.

Small projects with a big impression would be to use the "birch bark" as matting around a nature print, as frames for your photographs, "birch bark" baskets, Christmas tree ornaments, covering the inside panels of kitchen, or bathroom cabinets and furniture drawer fronts, covering containers and vases to be used in open places etc...

A Blackfoot Myth

Why the Birch Tree Wears the Slashes in its Bark

It was a hot day, and Old-man was trying to sleep, but the heat made him sick. He wandered to a hilltop for air; but there was no air. Then he went down to the river and found no relief. He travelled to the timberlands, and there the heat was great, although he found plenty of shade. The travelling made him warmer, of course, but he wouldn't stay still.

"By and by he called to the winds to blow, and they commenced. First they didn't blow very hard, because they were afraid they might make Old-man angry, but he kept crying:

"'Blow harder -- harder -- harder! Blow worse than ever you blew before, and send this heat away from the world.'

"So, of course, the winds did blow harder -- harder than they ever had blown before.

"'Bend and break, Fir-Tree!' cried Old-man, and the Fir-Tree did bend and break. 'Bend and break, Pine-Tree!' and the Pine-Tree did bend and break. 'Bend and break, Spruce-Tree!' and the Spruce-Tree did bend and break. 'Bend and break, O Birch-Tree!' and the Birch-Tree did bend, but it wouldn't break -- no, sir! -- it wouldn't break!

"'Ho! Birch-Tree, won't you mind me? Bend and break! I tell you,' but all the Birch-Tree would do was to bend.

"It bent to the ground; it bent double to please Old-man, but it would not break.

"'Blow harder, wind!' cried Old-man, 'blow harder and break the Birch-Tree.' The wind tried to blow harder, but it couldn't, and that made the thing worse, because Old-man was so angry he went crazy. 'Break! I tell you -- break!' screamed Old-man to the Birch-Tree.

"'I won't break,' replied the Birch; 'I shall never break for any wind. I will bend, but I shall never, never break.'

"'You won't, hey?' cried Old-man, and he rushed at the Birch-Tree with his hunting-knife. He grabbed the top of the Birch because it was touching the ground, and began slashing the bark of the Birch-Tree with the knife. All up and down the trunk of the tree Old-man slashed, until the Birch was covered with the knife slashes.

"'There! that is for not minding me. That will do you good! As long as time lasts you shall always look like that, Birch-Tree; always be marked as one who will not mind its maker. Yes, and all the Birch-Trees in the world shall have the same marks forever.' They do, too. You have seen them and have wondered why the Birch-Tree is so queerly marked. Now you know.

This version of the legend comes from Frank Linderman's 1915 collection Indian Why Stories.