What You’ll Need:

  • 1 sturdy branch (Ensure that you are not clipping or foraging from an environmentally protected area—or your neighbour’s yard.)
  • 1 pack of “S” hooks, available at most hardware stores. (Bring your branch with you to pick the correct size—you’re looking for the size that fits as snugly as possible on to your branch.)
  • Acrylic paint in your choice of colour
  • Gold metallic spray paint
  • Polyurethane glass varnish
  • Masking tape

How-to:

  1. Wrap a line of masking tape around your branch two to three inches from the branch’s end in order to make a neat demarcation for where the painted portion will end. Paint up to this line with acrylic paint.
  2. Once acrylic paint has dried, remove masking tape and coat entire branch with clear varnish.
  3. In a well-ventilated area, spray paint the S hooks—I chose gold but spray paint yours any colour you fancy—and let dry. (If you want to leave your “S” hooks silver you can skip this step.)
  4. Once the varnish on your branch has dried, attach the S hooks. Depending on how tightly the “S” hooks fit on your branch, you may need to affix the hooks with glue to keep them in place.
  5. To mount your finished leash holder, hammer two nails directly through the branch and into the wall or space nails beneath to support the branch. Now step back and admire your handy work!

The author is a member of thecraft.co, a super-cool collective sharing how-to’s for all manner of nifty DIY endeavours