in a good way... 😀

I’m drowning in Birch bark around here.

Birch bark is my bestseller with orders going to far-away places like California, Pennsylvania, Florida and Australia. I also had a few local Greater Toronto Area orders which is fantastic – it appears people enjoy working with natural material like tree bark. And we all know the Birch trees have this wonderful white bark that’s hard to resist.

Birch bark has a long and interesting history with many cultures, including Latvia (my kids’ paternal side is Latvian) and among many Native North American tribes. I’ve done a bit of research into these trees and discovered many astonishing facts: Birch wood and bark have been used to make into toys, tools, handles and paper as far back as ancient times.

Birch bark is also used to make canoes. Why? Because it turns out the bark is quite water resistant.

Working with Birch bark

I read someplace that Birch bark can be flattened with water, which interested me because some of my bark comes off the tree stems in tight curls. I collected some of these curls recently and the longest ones measure around 18 inches (46 cm). I decided to test the water resistance by giving them a little bath in the bathtub and weighing them down with a few heavy bricks as a method to flatten them.

But first, I tried it with shorter pieces. I have so many short pieces of bark, if a mistake happens, it won’t be the end of the world mainly because more bark is being shed as I type these words.

It’s not as time consuming as it may look… I actually did the long pieces in the bathtub and then promptly forgot about them. But, I have to pee about seventy million times so they didn’t stay in the water that long. 🙄

They came out perfect! I also noticed giving them a bath helps to prevent them from becoming too brittle. The larger or longer pieces also become more pliable, which is desired when used in crafts or art.

I let them air dry which takes 12-24 hours and then off they go to whomever purchases them.

Extra long Birch bark strips are now listed in my shop. Click here to check out the listing.

What do people use Birch bark for?

Well I have seen some amazing artistic creations, including in festivals, period era decorative items, fashion jewelry (namely earrings), and in interior design and outdoor/garden/wedding decorations. I have seen candles wrapped with Birch bark, or pretty glass containers filled with small Birch bark scrolls, curls or scraps, and artists incorporate pieces of bark in some of their paintings. Children use it to decorate picture or mirror frames or make tiny toy canoes. I also saw some Birch logs, decorated with additional Birch bark, designed into the letters W and M and attached to the restroom doors in a restaurant.

I mostly sell raw bark, but recently I felt like crafting with it, so I made some gift tags out of my flattened Birch bark pieces.

The Tarot and spiritual community meanwhile uses Birch bark to write intentions and desires on the paper-thin pieces, to either scatter in nature during intention setting or meditation, or burn it. I know of several people who tried to psychologically let go of an ex by writing their name on the bark and burning it. Watching the ashes disappear is symbolic and helped the person to let go of traumatic experiences.

Another custom I discovered was through the aforementioned Latvian community; when one of the children’s aunt died in recent years, it was her wish that everyone take a piece of Birch bark and write a message on it to commemorate her life. Her name was Ingrid, and she was a nature lover and enamoured with Birch trees all her life. Her daughter collected the little scrolls from friends and family and took them to Ingrid’s favorite camping place in Haliburton and scattered them all around the site.

And there is another very fun tribe out there that uses birch bark: witches! I have stumbled across spells and rituals by contemporary witches that use all sorts of natural materials, including Birch bark. 😉

To visit my shop click here:
BoldlyChicBoutique

A note about fire safety

If you use bark, sage or bay leaves for burning purposes, please practice fire safety. Must this be said here in black and white? Sadly, yes. Please don’t burn down your home or injure yourself and others because you’re playing around with Birch bark and fire; Birch bark is paper thin and burns very quickly and it can easily get out of hand if you don’t have a fireproof container with water in it, and/or do your rituals outside in a safe place.

As I was saying… people use Birch bark for a variety of reasons, and this is why I’m sending it all over the planet. It has become a best seller in my young shop which makes me happy!

Thank you for stopping by by blog today. Please remember I will be letting this blog lapse back to the free version in late May because it is no longer worth the expense of nurturing it, but I will not disappear, no worries. I will continue writing, but I’m currently pondering next steps.

Meanwhile, if you have a kindle and would like to read my books, click here. If you don’t have a kindle, I am unsure how to guide you – I have been frustrated with the various book publishing platforms I’ve dabbled with and I’m not sure if Amazon is the right place for me to sell my stories. Does anyone have any tips for a self-publisher like me? Please email me or leave me a comment to contact you and I will.

See you in the comments.