I never fail to take a piece of birch bark home with me from a hike.  A fallen piece of art laying on the trail deserves a home and a place to continue on.

Many times I use them for end sheets in little memory books that I make.  Sometimes they take the grand fore front and are imbedded into a cover.

One year a dear friend of ours gave us a Holiday card that was very simple.  When we open it there was a piece of birch bark and it simply read, 

"If we only pay attention there are many gifts around us. The bark of a tree, the voice of a friend, the rhythm of our hearts. May you have endless moments of peace this year.