Hi there, folks! I’m so excited to be sharing a fun fall craft with you today at Simple as That, and I want to say a huge thanks to Rebecca for having me by for a visit!
My name is Abbie from Five days…5 ways and Secondhand or Bare Bottom. Yes, that’s right. I run not one but two blogs. Because being a mama to three children under 6, teaching fitness classes, trying to keep my house reasonably clean, knocking out a few DIY projects now and then, and spending time with my amazing husband doesn’t keep me busy enough. Uh huh.
Here’s a quick peek at some of the things that I’ve been up to at Five days…5 ways, my primary blog where I write about a different theme for each day of the week (Move-it Monday—fitness, Try-it Tuesday—tutorials, Wardrobe Wednesday—fashion, 5 Things Thursday—a list with pics of 5 items on my mind, and Feature Friday— what/whomever I want to feature that day):
Today, I’m going to show you how to make a sweet little family tree craft that really is simple as that!
Here’s what you’ll need to get started:
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Canvas (I found mine—which is 10”X14”—at Target on clearance for $3, and it was already cute, but I didn’t really have anything in my décor to match its Asian flair, so I decided to repaint it). You could easily use poster board or wrap cardboard in fabric. Feel free to be creative with your background
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Brushes
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Craft paint (both of these are assuming that you’re starting with a canvas that you want to paint)
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Straight pins
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Fabric scraps (I chose two patterns and two solids)
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Glue (I used a combo of hot glue and Elmer’s, though only the hot glue made it in my “ingredients” pic)
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Puffy paint (this is for writing your family names on your leaves and could just as easily be a felt tip marker or fabric marker)
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Trunk/leaves template. You can, of course, make your own, or you can click here for my PDF template if you like what I’ve done.
1. If you’ve got them, recruit a couple of willing helpers like these cute little gents:
Although this project is fairly kid-friendly, it might be best with ages 7 and up. Mine are 5 and 3 1/2 (the boys) and 10 months (the girl). So, the boys’ main occupation was slathering the canvas with paint, and the girl was pretty busy sticking everything in sight in her mouth, while I…
2. Cut out the trunk (and fished leggos out of baby mouths):
…and leaves
3. Glue your trunk to your canvas (I hot-glued mine to make it extra-secure).
4. Assign your helpers the incredibly important job of leaf-gluing. I would not suggest assigning them the incredibly important job of leaf arrangement if you plan to display your family tree art anyway that adults might see it!
We used Elmer’s for this step to avoid the inevitable burnt fingers that would have resulted from any proximity of three-year-old hands to hot glue (who am I kidding? Mama’s just as bad as the 3-year-old!)
5. Using your puff paint or markers, print your family names on the designated leaves. Obviously, the light leaf/dark print combo works best for visibility. Also, if you go the paint route, be sure to proceed slooooooowly. The paint tends to explode from the tip and glop up your painting before you even realize you’ve given it a good squeeze. Fortunately, I had the good sense to test it out first (I can think of many a project where this was not the case), and I got a good feel for the ornery little critter. I’m not saying it’s perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but there were no paint explosions, and I call that success!
6. Find yourself somewhere to proudly display your magnificent artwork. I had the perfect spot in mind:
I even had a couple of pretty white birds just waiting to perch in its branches. Okay, so maybe they were a little big and probably would have smashed my little tree to smithereens if they’d actually tried, but they sure looked good roosting just beside it.
And there you have it! A fetching little fall craft for you and your tykes.
I hope you get a chance to try it out, and I would love it if you have a moment to stop by Five days…5 ways, say hey, and check out the other hijinks we get up to each day.
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Thank you so much for stopping by and sharing this fun fall craft with us Abbie! Be sure to stop by and check out more of Abbie’s adorable projects, her blog is filled to the brim with cute ideas!!
Have a great weekend everyone!
Stay tuned tomorrow for a great big roundup of my favorite images linked up in the
{Simpe things Sunday} party and for the big announcment of the
{52 weeks of the simple things} anniversary giveaway winners!!
🙂
Rebecca Cooper is a 42-year-old wife and mother of four from Alberta, Canada. As a photographer, crafter, author, and blogger, she finds joy and fulfillment in celebrating everyday moments. She loves to read and eat chocolate, and is a firm believer in afternoon naps. Rebecca shares her family’s adventures, photo tips, simple craft projects + more right here at Simple as That.
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Love this idea!! I’m going to do this with my family at FHE!! Thanks for the tutorial!
I love this idea! And I love that kids can help 🙂
super cute. love that there are things the kids can help with.
great idea!!! my kiddos will LOVE this!
Just a quick note to let you know that a link to this post will be placed on CraftCrave today [07 Oct 09:00pm GMT]. Thanks, Maria
Thank you so much for this post. I want to let you know that I posted a link to your blog in CBH Digital Scrapbooking Freebies, under the Page 5 post on Oct. 08, 2011. Thanks again.
My kids would love to do this!
How cute, love the polka dot tree!
I just love that!!!
so excited to give this as a gift to a family that just recently adopted 5 kids!! thanks for such great photos & instructions!