kidsklutter

Thankful Tree with Paper Pulp

 

 Today we are sharing a fun Nature Play Recipe.  Our adorable Fall Centerpiece Craft for Kids is so simple to make and will look great as part of your Thanksgiving display.

Making Paper Pulp is really simple…

• Have the kids sort paper scraps by colors into separate bowls and tear them into little pieces (we actually cheated and used the paper shredder).  Since we were making fall leaves, we used yellow, orange and red paper.
• Pour boiling water over the shredded paper and let it sit for a few hours.  This will help loosen the paper fibers and make it easier to blend it into pulp.
• Scoop small batches of softened paper and water mixture into a blender and pulse into a smooth pulp.
• Super easy!

The kids collected tree branches and wood chips from our back yard and arranged them in a tin can (make sure your can does not have sharp edges).

Once the kids are ready to start creating, have them squish the wet paper pulp onto the branches.  This will create the look of brightly colored fall leaves.  How simple is that!  The paper will dry and have a wonderful texture.
Just to be clear, we are simply adding the wet paper directly onto the branch.  We did not adding anything to the pulp/water mixture.  I love how beautiful and textural the paper pulp looks when it is dry.

The less planned the leaves are, the better it looks.  Just sit back and let the kids create:) Our little branches supported thick leaves, small leaves, chunky leaves, skinny leaves and each one looked great!

Once the kids have deemed their branch finished, set it in the sun to dry.  Depending on how thick the pulp is, will depend on drying time.  Ours were completely dry by morning.

I can’t believe how beautiful our little Fall branches turned out!  They will make the perfect Thanksgiving centerpiece.

The dried paper pulp is stunning and the kids were so proud of their creations!  I think we may need to make a larger version for my front entry.

Just remember that we did not add anything to the paper, just water.  The dried pulp with turn back into a squishy pulp if it get wet.  You could coat your trees with a spray varnish if you are worried about them getting damaged with water.  This is an inside decoration for sure

• Paper ~ just save your scraps and you will find in little or no time you will have enough to do this with, or use a few pieces of your favorite colors.
• The branches and wood chips were found on a nature walk
• cans- these are from soup or other items used in a can, you can use a jar or any other object to house your tree,  no limit to what you can do.

big thanks to www.houseaforest.com for the pictures and great idea.

visit there website for more fun things!