Dotty Apple Tree Craft

Yesterday the kids received a gift wrapped in bright green tissue paper, and I was inspired to do another take on last year's apple tree craft.

{Apple Tree by Mia, Age 4}

Materials:

• paper (or printable tree template) 
• red Bingo marker (crayon/marker/paint would also work) 
• green tissue paper/crepe paper (or construction paper) 
• brown crayon (or colored pencil or marker) 
• scissors 
• glue 
• green crayon (optional) 
• foam paintbrush (optional)  

Directions:

1. Draw a tree or use a printable template if you prefer. Mia wanted me to trace her hand and forearm with brown crayon to make the tree trunk and branches. 
2. Color in tree trunk and branches using a brown crayon.
3. Cut or tear small pieces of green tissue paper, crepe paper, or construction paper.
4. Glue green paper pieces onto the paper to make the tree's leaves. (We used a foam paintbrush and very slightly watered down Elmer's glue.)
5. After glue is dry, use a red Bingo marker (Ours is from Dollar Tree.) to make apples on the tree.
6. Mia finished her project by making grass with green crayon. You could also use your green paper pieces or cut fringe along one long rectangle of paper and glue down.

Easy Apple Tree Craft

The inspiration for this craft: http://familycrafts.about.com/cs/applecrafts/a/blappltree.htm

Materials Needed:

• large piece of paper 
• brown crayon
• green paint
• red paint

 Directions:

1. Trace child's hand (with fingers spread apart) and forearm all the way to elbow to make the tree trunk and branches. We used 12" x 12" paper for this.
2. Color the tree trunk brown. Mia used crayon, but colored pencil, marker, or paint would work, too.
3. Add the leaves. Mia painted them using green finger paint, but there are several ways you could do this: marker, crayon, colored pencil, painting with a brush. (See Variations for more ideas.)
4. Make apples by dipping finger into red paint (we used acrylic paint after the finger paint was dry) and then dotting it onto the leaves.

Variations: 

• You could make an autumn tree by painting the leaves with fall colors, by using foam stamps and paint to make the leaves, or by gluing on silk leaves or real leaves.

• You could create the apples by using foam stamps, by adding shaped buttons (or plain round buttons), or you could make the apples green or yellow for added variety.