Today’s simple but beautiful tree branch craft with brighten up your porch and be a memorable family project. We originally made this nine years ago and to this day it sits proudly in your backyard.
Nature crafts for kids are a favorite of ours for a couple of important reasons:
- They inspire young minds to look differently at the world; a child might see a stick as a sword or a magic wand, not trash, so encourage that imagination!
- They are low-cost and often free; yes, it’s true, nature supplies the most brilliant art materials right to your door!
In the case of today’s tree branch craft, a very large and intricate branch fell off our persimmon tree one day and I decided it would be the perfect miniature tree, all it needed was a little paint. And who better to paint it with me than the kids! We dubbed this project our “Rainbow Tree.”
I’m pretty sure my family was rolling their eyes when I first ran out into the yard and saved this branch before anyone tossed it; I imagined their thoughts, “Who in their right mind would stick a branch into a bucketful of sand?” or “Why are you planting a dead tree limb?” Thankfully no one uttered such words and after a couple of weeks sitting on the back porch we finally got around to decorating our tree. As she painted it, my daughter said, and I quote, “I’m an artist.” After hearing that I knew that no matter what happened next the project was a success!
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Tree Branch Craft: Make a Rainbow Tree
Materials
- Tree branch
- Bucket
- Sand
- Acrylic Paint
- Paintbrushes
Tree Branch Craft Instructions
- Step One Save a tree branch! The next time you have a windstorm, go outside and pick up a few interesting looking branches.
- Step Two Select one branch for your tree. Fill a bucket or pot with sand. Pack it down or add a little water which will help solidify the sand once it dries out.
- Step Three Now sink your branch into the sand and pack around it to make it stand up.
- Step Four Get out the paints! Acrylic paints will be longer lasting so if you plan on keeping your Rainbow Tree outside where it will be exposed to the elements use acrylics. Otherwise you can use poster paints.
- Step Five Paint your tree! I painted the upper branches and let the kids paint the lower ones.
- Step Six Let dry and move to a celebrated location in your yard or home. You’re done!
How easy was that? This tree branch craft is a sweet way to add some design flair to your porch. I’m going to try hanging white lights from it soon….So the next time you’re out and about in nature, look around for some “art materials” to bring home and have fun with; your child’s imagination thanks you.
More
If you enjoyed this project, here are three more nature crafts to add to your yard:
This is such a pretty idea! I think the hooligans need to paint one of these to keep back by our playhouse!
Hi Jackie,
Thanks! I’d love to see the hooligans paint a “tree”! It would make for a fab group art project!
Ana
Found this Rainbow Tree project while looking for an easy craft to go along with our faux “storytime” that we have started doing at home during the coronavirus quarantine until our library opens back up. We did it for the children I watch, ages 2 and 8, as well as my granddaughter who is almost 2. It was messy but we put smocks on and did it outside. They started on their own painting the rocks I had placed in the pot to hold the “branch” in place. Turned out really cute. They were unaware of watching that their heads didnt scrape past the painted branches so we had some paint in the hair. Ended up having fun bubble bath afterwards.
This made my day to hear 🙂