Leafy branch draft catcher

I saw this project first in this awesome book and then promtly forgot about it--until this winter when I noticed that the door in our new house is quite drafty and would really benefit from a draft catcher. I remembered this pretty leaf-covered branch project and just did my best to re-create it sans instructions.

First, I drew a branch nubby branch design on doubled up muslin. The branch should be about four inches wider than your door. I pinned the fabric together loosely to make it easier to cut out.

After cutting out the shapes, I ran it through the sewing machine but left the base of the branch open. Then I trimmed the excess fabric to about 1/4 inch and snipped the corners.

Turn it right side out, carefully turning out the nubs. You can iron it, but I didn't bother.

Then fill it with something like corn, buckwheat hulls, cat litter, sand, rice or beans and sew up the end. I used a funnel and this helped tremendously. I made one out of a plastic soda bottle.

I also used cat litter because that's the only thing I had enough of to fill the branch with. It's kind of dusty and a bit heavy, but it works in a pinch and is certainly a better choice then polyfill, which I think was a strange suggestion I saw online.

 Then I cut some leaves out of green and brown felt and sewed them onto the branch nubs.  It was a fun and quick project which will probably save us on some heating bills.