Chenille Cherry Tree
By: Amanda Formaro
Difficulty: Easy
Age: 6 and up.
Average User Rating:
;)
George Washington couldn’t tell a lie, so he told his father that he chopped down the cherry tree. Discuss this famous story while making this fun craft this Presidents' Day!
What you'll need:
- 7 brown chenille stems
- 21 red pony beads
- 2 green chenille stems
- Scissors
How to make it:
- Gather all the brown chenille stems, lining them up evenly. Twist together in the center. The top half will be your branches and the bottom half your tree trunk.
- Twist the bottom half together, work your way down leaving about 2” at the bottom for the roots.
- Spread the roots out so that the tree stands on its own. If your tree is too top heavy, trim about 1.5” off of each tree branch.
- Spread the branches out.
- Cut the green chenille stems into 2” pieces.
- Fold a green chenille piece in half and twist the bottom half of it around a tree branch (closest to the trunk) to create a leaf.
- Slide a pony bead onto the branch above the leaf you just created.
- Move up about an inch on the branch and repeat steps 6 and 7 twice so that you have a total of 3 leaves and 3 pony beads (cherries) on each branch. Fold the end of the branch over so that the pony bead cherry doesn’t fall off the end.
Tips:
- Pony beads are available in packs of individual colors or large variety packs at your local discount department store or craft supply store.
- Keep a supply of different color chenille stems for a variety of easy and creative projects.
- When chenille stems are cut they can have a pointy end. Let children know so that they handle them carefully.
