Winter Tree Craft Project

An easy and fun Winter tree project to do on a cold winter’s afternoon with, or without, the kids.

Get creative with this lovely craft! It is great as an adult or kid’s craft and even as a collaborative project for the whole family. (Also see this Seasonal Collage Art.)

You will need:

• An old picture frame
• Paper in different colours and textures
• Tree branches
• Wooden/ cloth/ plastic flowers
• Small cardboard and plastic container
• Sisal
• Pillow stuffing
• Modge podge
• Glue

What to do:

Take your old picture frame apart and clean off all dust and dirt. If you can’t get the old picture off, turn the hardboard around and use the other side.

Start from the top and paint a generous layer of podge in the sky area. I used crepe paper but you can basically use any type of paper. Lay your paper on the painted area and give another coat of podge on top of the paper. Crepe paper tears easily, so use a gentle touch when painting the podge.

Use different shades of blue for the sky and different shades of green for the grass. To give your picture more texture, tear the paper instead of cutting it. Let the background dry thoroughly.  If you used the rough side of the hardboard and crepe paper, you will need to build two or three layers on your background.

Meanwhile, you can paint or cover the frame with paper. If you are going to cover with paper, paint a layer of podge and use strips of thin paper. A thinner paper is easier to work with when covering a frame to get into the corners and folding around the frame.

Make your containers. Cut your container in half, lengthwise (I used a small yogurt container and a cardboard container.) Paint the containers with a layer of podge and cover with paper.

Once your containers and the background are dry, glue your containers onto the background. Glue a bit of pillow stuffing in the sky area to form clouds.  Arrange your branches in the larger container and glue. Cover your wooden flower with paper and use a smaller paper flower or button in the middle. Glue your flower to a lolly stick and make a few leaves out of felt or green paper.

Add flowers, beads, or paper leaves to your branches and some green sisal to the pots to finish the pictures.

Lastly, replace the frame. There you have completed a lovely Winter tree craft project that will pretty up any wall!

Variation – We often do not know what to buy for children’s birthdays, especially when they reach the age where toys are no longer important. Use the same method for the background but instead of using branches to give a 3D effect, use rope or pipe cleaners to build your tree. Add coins to the branches and you have the perfect gift.