I have a long list of diamond willow project ideas. Some I have dabbled with,
and others I am waiting for time to work on the idea or for the willow pieces to dry sufficiently. Large pieces for lampstands or bedposts require lots of drying time.
Vases and candlestick holders are small and pretty easy to make. Here’s a vase I made for my daughter. I’ve given several of them away and have some for sale on Etsy and Ebay.
I have made a cane for my dad and have some for sale online. The trick with a cane is a handle. It’s not too hard to find a short (around 30″), straight stick.
But a well-formed handle that is attached securely is a trick. Here’s one that I sold on my Etsy site. It’s one of the nicest pieces of willow I’ve seen!
I have made coasters by cutting slices from larger pieces of willow. These pieces also make good vase bases as you see in the picture above.
I have coat hooks in my workshop made from diamond willow that has a large, strong branch still attached to a nice diamond. I cut the branch to make it flat on the back and mount it to the wall. Nice!
I had a customer order four 7-foot high pieces for a quilt ladder. He puts cross pieces between them and hangs quilts from the cross pieces. Great idea!
I’m working on a railing for the deck of my workshop. It’s time-consuming work, but the results are amazing!
You can make bird feeder poles, lamp bases, and handles for marshmallow sticks, fire pokers, and back scratchers. And then there are picture frames, book ends, clocks, cabinet handles, and paper towel holders. There’s no end to the possibilities! There just aren’t enough hours in the day…
One nice thing about having customers is that they request diamond willow creations that I wouldn’t have made without some urging. So, a customer requested a cross and I made one. Then the customer requested two more, so I made three for him. I like how they turned out!
Here are some lamp bases that I made for a customer (16″ high and 4″ wide):
And then there’s “worry willow.” It’s the diamond willow alternative to worry stones. Small pieces that fit nicely in the hand. Good for decorations, carrying in your pocket, fiddling with (maybe I should make a diamond willow fidget spinner?), or attaching smaller ones to a zipper.
Below you’ll see a project that was a custom order. I would have never thought to make diamond willow hiking sticks with warthog tusks as toppers! But that’s what someone wanted – one for him and his wife.
Tom's Willow Craft 