A good way to use small pieces of cottonwood bark is to carve small houses. These are carved on both sides and I wood burned the wood boards. I found some small birds in a craft store and I pinned them unto the roof. Also the snow is Snow-tex from DecoArt.
This carving is 5 inches long and 3 1/2 inches tall, from 1 inch stock. The canoe has a flat bottom so it can be put on a shelf. I super glued in a 8 inch twine so it could be hang on a Christmas tree. The painted lines are to add some color when on the tree. The bear is more of a caricature look that I like. The bears arms go over the side about a 1/16 of an inch. I didn't carve much depth in the canoe and didn't paint that area. I didn't find a color I like in that area. It's painted with watered down acrylic's.
