On Making Ent Branches/Wings:

Ignore the fat woman in the costume. And I haven’t put the sleeves on it yet, so it will look better when I’m done. I just had to catch Mountain Man when he wasn’t busy so he could take the pictures. You can use leaves if you would rather then the moss.

The pictures didn’t come out very well. If there was enough light to see what it was the shadows got in the way. But here goes. These are kind of like the ones from this link.
















1. I cut the twisted part and the hook from a wire hanger with a pair of wire cutters and used what was left. Then I bent it in shape with a pair of pliers. I didn’t use the full length only a side and the bottom length of the hanger.
















2. Using 12 gage Aluminum Floral Wire from Darice in 5 yd / 4.6 m lengths, I used a little less then two packs for the branches a head piece (Not shown) and the wrist and elbow bracelets. It bends easily and holds its shape and if bend the wrong way it can be easily moved back to the place you want. (I found Brown colored in my craft store.) I used pieces long enough to go from about the wing tip to the hanger and out to the opposite tip, adding about an extra 12 inches / 30 mm for twisting and bending. The first cut would be the a little longer the next the one sized for the wing spread and the last a little shorter adding the 12 inches to each.

I made a small loop at each end of the wires, so there was no sharp ends and there would be a nice bit of wire to hot glue the moss to.

3. I centered the shortest of the three brown wires on the bent hanger wire at the center cross piece. I twisted this wire around the holder to half way from the center of the cross piece to the place where the hanger wire turns down doing this on each side of center, leaving the ends pointing up from the top.

4. I centered the mid sized piece of the three brown wires on the bent hanger wire at the center cross piece. I twisted this wire almost to the turn down in the hanger wire of each side, leaving the ends out to the sides.

5. I centered the longest of the three brown wires on the bent hanger wire at the center cross piece. I twisted this wire around the holder a third of the way down the side of the holder, leaving the ends out to the sides.

Now the wires are on, but they will like to twist and turn on their own.

6. Remembering to have them come out a bit and not lay flat to the table because you want to be able to have room to move your arms. Take the lowest wire at the side and the wire at the turn and cross them a few inches up, above and out from the corner turn and twist them together a few turns. The longer of these wires should be on top and the shorter on the bottom, if not give it another half twist.

Repeat on the on the other side. They do not have to be exact only close enough to keep the weight even.

7. Take the longest of the two you just twisted and one of the wires from the middle that is not twisted in yet and cross and twist them in the same way only farther up, above and out. This should make it so that they are no longer slipping around and hold a basic wing skeleton shape.















8. I cut six lengths of wire about twice the length of my hand, finger tip to wrist. I bent the ends in small loop and placed a bend at one third. I lay the longer end along the one of the branches from the tip down the branch. At the bend in the piece you are adding twist the two longer ends together a few turns bend the not added piece to the shorter piece and twist a few turns. This should make it so the pieces are now locked together. Twist a little more if you need to, but don’t use up your small branches. Remember you will be gluing it when you put on the moss.

Repeat for the other branch ends and bend them into interesting turns.

9. Put hot glue on the loop ends and wrap a bit of moss over the ends. Wire around the center of each clump of moss with green floral wire, 24 gage, a few times around tightly to hold the rest of the moss in place and tuck the ends of the wire in when done. Do this for each end wire and where you twisted the branches together.

I added some moss sheeting to the holder to hide all the twisted wire at the top of the hanger.

10. Add elastic to the top corners of the hanger, up around your shoulders and down under your arms to the bottom hooks of the holder. Leave your branches plain or add flowers, leaves, bugs, and/or birds.

11. The wrist and elbow bands are just a wire cut almost twice the length of around the wrist or elbow and turn the ends in a loop, glue and wire the moss on. Wrap around arm and pull up the ends a bit so they stick out like twigs.















I added a butterfly because I had one. I will look for a bird instead and maybe a small nest. The sheet moss I used is messy to use and flakes off easy if brushed up against. I need to spray it with something to keep it from happening as much. I’m sure I can find something at the craft store or I’ll just use hair spray.