Make Winter trees with the kids- from branches out of the garden or collected on a nature walk, as decoration in the house or as a party prop!
We have a huge pecan nut tree in our garden. After an extremely windy night, a number of branches came down. As I was looking at our bleak winter garden, I decided I had to do something creative with the branches.
I wanted to do a project inspired by the cold beauty of winter. As I was working on the project, I thought these could make stunning props to a Frozen themed birthday party, or with a bit of improvising, a Halloween party or even a Christmas tree.
What you need:
- Branches
- Plastic or ceramic pot (I re-used an old plastic pot)
- Decorations to hang from the branches
- Primer
- Paint
- Glue or gut
- Glitter
- Sand
- Stones or pebbles
What to do:
Remove dead leaves from the branches and clean excess dust and dirt off the branches. Wash your pot thoroughly with soapy water and rinse.
Sand the pot lightly, wash again and dry. If using a plastic pot, prime your pot with a universal or plastic primer. If using a ceramic pot, no primer is needed.
While the pot is drying, paint your branches with acrylic paint. I wanted to make two contrasting trees, so I painted one white, one black.
Paint your pot in the colour of your choice, again, add glitter to the wet paint if you like. You can sprinkle a bit of glitter on the wet paint, it gives a lovely shimmering effect in the sun.
Once the branches and pot are dry, fill the pot with sand. (I used normal building sand) Arrange your branches and “plant”them in the sand.
Decorate your tree. I used plastic crystals as it reminded me of icicles which compliment the winter effect.
For my black tree, I glued 3D printed butterflies onto the branches. I wanted the bright colours to contrast with the black branches.
You can use a wide variety of items for decorations. Think of bats for a Halloween party, insects and spiders for a Creepy Crawly party, ladybugs or flowers for a Spring theme.
Lastly, add a few stones or pebbles to cover sand and round off the project.
A lovely DIY tree project to do with the kiddos while at home- Winter trees, or any other theme you can think of! Get creative and make beautiful trees!
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