Every year I love to dream up things to make for Christmas presents. I like to give everyone in my family one thing that is homemade and unique to them. My projects have included bottle cap sculptures, pebble art pictures, barn wood silhouettes, pencil pouches made from favorite outgrown clothing items and more!

Since my oldest son had just finished his five month hike on the Appalachian Trail from Maine to Georgia, I wanted to do something with that in mind. I decided to make a wine bottle stopper that he could have in his new apartment and could remind him of the trail…a “trail topper”.

I looked online and found a silicone bottle stopper with a threaded post. I had to find inserts that I could use to attach something to the post.

After some research, I found some that are used by wood turners that looked like they’d be perfect.

I then had to find a fallen branch that had a circumference about the size of the silicone bottle stopper.

With supplies in hand, I began crafting it. I measured and cut the branch into a 3 inch stick. Then I carefully drilled a hole in one end it starting with a tiny drill bit and working up to 1/2″ so that I wouldn’t split the stick. I cleaned out the hole and then carefully twisted the threaded*******into the stick until it was flush with the bottom. The first attempt cracked, so I started again.

The second go round was better, and was ready to turn my little stick into a trail marker. I used white paint to create a small rectangle on the stick just like the Appalachian Trail blaze that was on trees, posts, and sometimes buildings (yes, the trail goes right down a town street in a few places). Once the paint dried, I sanded it a little to make it look weathered. I painted the whole thing with a couple coats of matte, water-based polyurethane and let it dry. Once dry, I screwed it onto the bottle stopper post and ta da…

Now my son and his girlfriend have a little reminder of their time on the trail!