If you want to decorate your home with Birch Logs but find them too expensive to purchase, make your own instead with this DIY Birch Log Tutorial. I now have a new, updated way to make birch logs! The old way used newspaper, the new way uses a cardboard box.
Skill Level: Beginner
Cost of Materials: Less than $5
Time to Complete: ~1.5 hours
My Inspiration for Making Birch Logs
I really wanted some birch logs to place on either side of the fireplace, but have you see how much those things cost? $10 a log! I needed six and I was not about to spend $60 on a few tiny birch logs that were going to be on display for only a couple months. So I decided it was time for some DIY Birch Logs.
Different Ways to Make a Birch Log
- Old way = Newspaper
- New way = Cardboard box
My old method called for using newspaper as the base of the birch log. That was great 5 years ago when people were still reading physical newspapers, but now everyone reads their news online. Newspapers are hard to come by these days, but you can still get them. So I am going to leave my instructions for how to make birch logs out of newspaper at the end of this post.
Using a Cardboard Box – New Method
With online shopping at its peak and the never-ending supply of amazon boxes in this world, it’s easy to find a cardboard box to make a birch log. You’ll also need some of that brown paper that is often used as padding in the box during shipment.
The only things you’ll need to buy if you don’t already have them are a small bottle of white and black paint ($1.60 total), a foam paint brush ($.80) and glue ($1.40). I’ve linked to some examples below.
Supplies You’ll Need to Make a Birch Log
- Cardboard Box
- the larger the box, the larger the log
- Brown Packing Paper
- often used as packing material
- Glue
- Elmers, Mod Podge or Tacky Glue will work
- Paint
- White & Black
- a 2 oz. bottle of each will be plenty
- Paint Brush
- a foam brush is best, because you can dab – leaving no brush strokes
- Q–tip
- Tape
- any kind
- Scissors
- Measuring Tape or Ruler
- Pen or Pencil
Watch How to Make a Birch Log Using Cardboard
General Outline of Steps Detailed in Video
- Disassemble cardboard box into flat piece
- Wet cardboard
- Roll wet cardboard tightly, into log shape
- Unroll cardboard, re-roll loosely and let dry overnight
- Roll dried cardboard into tight log shape
- Glue and tape closed
- Wrap log in brown packing paper and glue to secure
- Paint log white
- Paint black lines
- Glue torn strips of brown paper and paint white, grey and black
- Add light grey paint (shading) to entire log
Using Newspaper to Make a Birch Log – Old Method
I saw a lot of people online using pool noodles to create a birch log, but I didn’t want to spend money on pool noodles. I had a lot of newspaper, so I put my thinking cap on and came up with a way to use newspaper to create a birch log. And the added bonus of using newspaper instead of pool noodles? It made the logs heavy, like real logs would be.
Where to Get Newspaper
If you don’t have newspaper, check with your local library to see if you could have the old copies they discard daily. You could also use magazines, you would just need to rip apart the pages and then lay them out, overlapping them until you have the length you want your log to be. Another option is simply using loads of scrap paper destined for the recycle bin. If you don’t want to use paper products, you can opt for the pool noodle using these same set of instructions. I’ll include instructions below for subbing in a pool noodle.
Supplies you will need:
- Newspaper – about 10 days worth per log, depending on how thick you want your logs (magazines or lot’s of scrap paper would work too) OR a pool noodle
- Brown Kraft paper or brown paper grocery bags
- News print paper or tissue paper
- White and Black paint
- Paint brush
- Tape or string
- Elmer’s glue
Instructions:
Forming the Birch Log
Open up the newspaper and lay out about 6-8 full sheets. Pile all the half sheets down on the lower end. The half sheets tend to shift up as you roll, so it’s easier to have them on the lower half. Roll up the newspaper into a log. If you find your log is either too big or too small, unroll and remove or add newspaper, then re-roll. Secure the log with tape or string. I used string because I was running low on tape.
Don’t have newspaper? You can substitute a pool noodle instead. Just cut the noodle to the length you want your birch log to be.
Next, you’ll need either brown Kraft paper or brown paper grocery bags. Brown Kraft paper is often used as packing material for shipments. It comes in handy for a lot of craft projects, so I often save it. During Christmas time I do most of my shopping online so I end of receiving quite a bit of it.
Wrap in Brown Paper
Cut your brown Kraft paper so that it extends about 1 inch on either end of the newspaper roll (or pool noodle) and will overlap by about 4 inches after you roll it around the newspaper (or pool noodle). If you are using a paper bag, chances are a single piece will not be long enough to cover the roll from left to right. No worries, just cut 2 pieces, one to cover the left side and one to cover the right side. Don’t worry about the overlapping seam in the middle. Wrinkles, seams and textures will all play a part in making it look like a real log.
Using a paint brush, spread Elmer’s glue all over the Kraft paper. I dilute the Elmer’s with water (about 80% Elmer’s and 20% water). Not only does it save on glue, but it’s also easier to spread.
Place the newspaper roll (or pool noodle) onto the Kraft paper and roll it up. Don’t worry about any wrinkles, wrinkles are ok. Then, apply your glue to the inside and outside of the ends and then fold inward. If it overlaps, that’s ok and if it doesn’t quite reach, that’s ok too because you’re going to cover the ends anyways.
Create “Caps” for the Ends
Cut a circle out of Kraft paper for each end. Don’t worry about making it a perfect circle. You will want to cut it so the circle folds a bit over the roll. Adhere with glue, both under and over the paper. In fact, I found out later it is best to coat the entire end in glue. It creates a sealant which makes it easier to remove the paint you will accidentally end up getting on the ends during your log painting.
Creating the Bark for your Birch Log
Next you will need your news print paper or tissue paper. If you’re wondering what news print paper is, it’s that grey-ish/beige paper stores use to wrap your fragile items in, during check-out. Like Kraft paper, it’s also used as a packing material. I happened to get a bunch of news print paper in some shipments I received so I decided to use it instead of tissue paper. While I had tissue paper which I could have used for the next step, I felt the news print paper would be easier to use because it was a little thicker. The tissue paper might get mushy as it becomes wet from spreading the glue, making it a little more difficult to work with. But that’s just a theory, I don’t know that for sure.
First, crumple up your news print or tissue paper. Then tear the paper into ~4 inch wide strips. Tearing gives the edges a more natural look, than a scissor cut. Apply your diluted Elmer’s glue to a strip and then wrap it around your log. At this point you actually want to create wrinkles in the paper as you apply it. Apply the strips, overlapping each other until all of the Kraft paper is covered (except for the sides of the log).
Tear up thin strips of news print/tissue paper. Wad them up and attach them to various spots on the log with your glue. Apply glue over the top of the wads as well and mash down with your fingers. Don’t mash them so that are totally flat, you still want them to be 3 dimensional. In the second picture below, the wad on the left has been mashed and the one on the right has not been mashed yet.
Painting your Birch Log
Wait for the glue on the wads to dry, then paint your log with white paint. I used a white chalk paint because it’s what I happened to have on hand. Any white paint should do as long as it has a matte finish. If it’s glossy, your log will look too shiny and fake. Brush the paint on haphazardly, you don’t want it to look too perfect. You also don’t want the whole thing covered in white paint, you’ll want some of the original grey news print paper to show through as well. Click on the images, if you want to see the paint detail better.
While the white paint is still wet, pour some black paint (I used black acrylic paint) into a shallow container. You wont need much. Very lightly, dip your brush into the black paint (it’s ok to use the same brush you used for the white paint). You only need a thin layer on the bristled ends covered in black paint. Then, with your paint brush perpendicular to your log, apply the black paint to all the wads with a stabbing motion. Do the same to other various places on the log. As you stab, you will see the white and black paint mix to create grey spots. But don’t stab too much, because you still want some black specs in there.
It’s Easy to Fix Painting Mistakes
One of the things I like best about crafting nature pieces is, nature is not perfect, so your piece doesn’t have to be either. And if you mess up with one of the painting steps, it’s very easy to paint over it with the original color and start again. If you added to much black and now you have too much grey, just add some white paint to your brush and stab over the grey to start over. Just keeping adding white and black paint to various areas until you get the look you want.
When your logs are all painted, using a thin paint brush, add some black lines perpendicular to the length of your log. If you don’t like how certain lines look, or where they are placed, just paint over them with white paint and start over. If you’re a messy painter like me, you will find that you got paint on the brown “cut” ends of the log. To remove the paint, take a paper towel and moisten it with water and rub the paint off the brown Kraft paper ends. If you coated your ends in glue, then it should allow the paint to come off relatively well.
Displaying Your Birch Logs
When you’re all done you can place the logs in a basket with pine branches and pine cones.
Or simply stack your logs with some rope or ribbon tied around them.
I’d love to see your completed birch log. Please share them with me on Facebook or instagram @stencildiystudios. Happy Holidays!
If you love decorating for the holidays, check out our other Holiday & Seasonal Craft Tutorials!
Author: Nicole Bolin