Wooden Snowflake Made From Recycled Chair Spindles

• Trace the medallion onto a piece of paper (as pictured above).
• Cut out the circle.
• Fold the circle in half four times (this gives you the eight points for each spindle).
• Tape the template onto the medallion.
• Mark the sides of the medallion at each fold (as pictured above). 
• Remove the template and on each line mark the center with a dot (this is where the holes for each spindle will be drilled).

Step 4 - Drill holes for the spindles

• Place the medallion into a vice to hold firmly in place.
• Using a 1/16-inch Pilot Hole Bit, drill a small hole on each dot.
• Using a 5/16-inch Forstner Bit, drill a hole the depth of the dowels on the spindles.

• Cut the dowels off the opposite end of each spindle (unless you prefer to keep them on) using a miter saw. If you want to get real fancy you could taper them into a point. 
• Here is where I'm going to keep it real - I wish I would have cut more off the ends of each antique chair spindle so they would be noticeably shorter than the larger spindles. Keep this in mind when making yours.

• Add a generous amount of Gorilla Glue to each hole on the medallion and insert the chair spindles. 
• To prevent the snowflake from warping while the glue sets, place a heavy object on top and let it dry overnight.

• The antique chair spindles are stained dark brown and to get the same dark brown base on the new spindles, apply one coat of Dark Walnut stain and wipe away excess.

Step 8 - Painting the Snowflake

• Once the dark stain is dry, dip just the tips of the brush into white chalk paint and with light pressure, apply long brush strokes over each spindle. You'll notice that more paint will land on the raised parts, which is a good thing.
• Let it dry. 
• The trick to achieving a timeworn look is to dry brush the paint in layers, letting each layer dry between coats. Mine took three before I achieved the look I wanted. My friend Nancy from Artsy Chicks Rule has a great Layered Dry Brushed Technique tutorial.

Step 9 - Adding Faux Snow

• Imagine if the snowflake were hanging outside, where would snow naturally accumulate?
• Using an artist's palette knife (or your fingers) apply layers of Snow-Tex in those areas.
• Before the Snow-Tex dries sprinkle white glitter over each mound.
• Let dry overnight.

Step 10 - Attaching the hardware

• Insert the double ended thread screw into the center of the medallion (as mentioned in Step 1).
• Attach a furniture knob on each side of the screw and thread until tight. 
• Screw a small eye hook into the top of one of the long chair spindles.
• Slip bakers twine through the eye hook and tie in a bow.
• Now you're ready to hang your Snowflake Decoration.