Tag: craft

Making holiday crafts with your children just might end up being a favorite holiday tradition.  It can also be a great way to keep your children occupied so you can get some things done that you haven’t had time for.  Holidays can be a hectic, busy time, and making these paper christmas trees can also be a great way for you to unwind and collect your wits for the next wave of crying children, relatives, or whatever else is thrown your way!  Not only are paper Christmas trees beautiful, they are also easy to make and a lot of fun to decorate.  A craft both adults and children will enjoy.  Let your creative juices flow, and have a great time!

Step 1: Assemble your materials. You can keep your tree simple, or get as elaborate as you like by decorating it with paint, glitter, stickers, paper cutouts, or anything else you can think of. This is a great project to do with a group. Supply the construction paper and a variety of decorative materials, and let everyone’s imagination run wild!

• Green construction paper (or any color you like).
• Scissors.
• A marker.
• Clear tape.
• Decorations for your tree; popular choices include glitter, stickers, ribbon, colored paper, confetti, etc.
• Craft glue or glue dots to affix the decorations.
• A hot glue gun and glue stick to affix the topper (optional).

Step 2: Cut two identical tree shapes out of construction paper. Begin by stacking two pieces of construction paper together and folding them in half. Then use a marker to draw a half-tree shape on the outside of your paper stack. Finally, cut along the lines through both sheets of paper. You will now have two identical tree shapes.

• You can make a large tree by using two full-size sheets of construction paper, or you can cut one piece of paper in half.

Step 3: Cut slits in the tree shapes for joining them together. First, find and mark the vertical center of each tree by folding it in half vertically (fold the pointed tip of the tree down to the base of the tree,) then lightly crease or mark the center. Finally, cut a slit in one tree from the top down to the center mark, and cut a slit in the other tree from the bottom up to the center.

Step 4: Join the two shapes and form the tree. Slide the two pieces together along the slits so that the middles match. Then use a few small piece of clear tape at the top and bottom of the tree to hold it all together. Finally, fold the tree open so that it stands on its own.

Step 5: Have fun decorating your tree! The sky is the limit with this step; be as creative as you like. You can use paint or glitter glue to add sparkle, or even “flock” your tree. Cut ornaments out of colored paper using scissors or a hole punch, and glue them to the tree. Create a garland out of metallic thread or ribbon, and don’t forget a tiny star or angel on top.

• You can use the same 3D cutting/splicing method you used to create the tree to make a 3D star or angel for the top.
• Hot glue works best for attaching things to the point of the tree.

 

The instructional portion of this article was provided by wikihow, a wiki building the world’s largest, highest quality how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Make a Paper Christmas Tree.  Content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons License.