Paper Bag Gnarly Trees
The other night at the Pumpkin Carving Party, my SIL Jennifer, was telling me about these paper bag trees she made with her Brownies. I must have looked like I was lost in the muck and mire because she finally said, "Geeze... just get me a paper bag and I can show you in 5 minutes." Well, she was true to her word. In a matter of minutes not only did she make a gnarly looking paper bag tree, but I felt confident that I could make one, too.
I sat down tonight to try to make one. Sure enough, in a matter of minutes, I made a tree. Out popped the camera, and easy peasy... a tutorial. I love it when things are this easy, although it would be a lot easier if all of you were sitting around my dining room table. We'd have a forest in a matter of minutes!
Basically, you can't make these wrong, and it is a craft you can do with children. So, go grab a few brown paper bags and pair of scissors, and you'll be making trees in no time. BTW... for the observant... you'll notice some blood smudges on the trunks and branches. Took a little nip out of my thumb :( But I didn't let a little cut stop me, trooper that I am ;) Ready? Here we go!
Measure up 4" from the bottom of the bag.
Cut down the center of the 4 sides of the bag to the 4" mark.
Twist the bag, then untwist.
Twist the trunk up 4" to the cut.
Each of the four sections will become a major branch of the tree.
Twist the first branch about halfway up.
Then, cut lengthwise down the bag to where the branch is twisted. You can make 1 or 2 cuts making 2 or 3 sections.
Twist each section. You can twist all the way up, or go halfway and make another cut. Continue cutting and twisting until all pieces of the 1st branch are all twisted.
Do the same for the other 3 branches. Make each one slightly different.
Make 4 or 5 snips at the bottom of the tree. Twist each section to create roots.
That's it. You can dink with the branches a bit until you are satisfied with the way they look. Then, tah dah... you are done and ready to make another. Now wasn't that the fastest and neatest craft you ever made? Thank you, Jenny, for teaching me this fun technique!
Links to the other Wee Folk Art crafts pictured in these photos:
Paper Clay Leaves can be found HERE.
Mini Pumpkins can be found HERE.
Campfire can be found HERE.
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Comments
gnarley trees
Love these!! They are perfect for my fairy play mat (silver penny patterns) I did one as shown and adapted the pattern for a gnome play matt for the boys
Redrawing the pattern to including a river and felted rocks (also from this site) Wish I had this resource years ago when my kids were little. Keep up the good work.
Our wee ones grab the gnarly
Our wee ones grab the gnarly trees and place them around the gnome home in the Fall. Such a simple project but they are dynamic. My are getting a bit limp from being played with so much. Think I'll need a new batch this Autumn.
Kimara
Wee Folk Art Publisher
Looing for flower patterns
Looing for flower patterns came across your tree page, made one and Loved it thank you for sharing. Easy and fun.
tree
I am making a wish tree for one of my blog posts and could not find anything I wanted to use - so I ended up on your site and WHOO HOO - I found something - I am going to use a large bag- so easy and so wonderfully knarly !!
Paper Bag tree
I've been making this with my daughter but splitting the branches is not something we thought of doing. It gives it a more natural and realistic look. We also add pretty flower and leaf foam stickers to make it look like a flowering tree. Great as a Mother's Day craft!
This is so great! I never
This is so great! I never have paper bags on hand, but I just bought some today for a project I need for my son's birthday party tomorrow... I guess I know what I'll be doing with the rest!