Valentine Smack-Down: You + Me Tree

This here is a little tree that you can put a small bag of treats in or for your honey to use as a pencil holder.

Here is what you will need: two TP tubes (or one paper towel tube cut to the height of two TP tubes), green and red paper, markers (brown and red), scissors, and glue (I used Tacky Glue).

Take one of your tubes (if you’re using two) and cut a very thin strip from one side:

Cut thin strips all the way around, but don’t cut all the way through — leave about a quarter inch intact toward one end. The resulting fringe will become your branches. If you’re using one longer tube, just fringe one end.

Run a bead of glue around the inside edge of your uncut tube:

Roll up your fringed tube and put it inside of the other. Firmly press the sides together. It will help to bend some of the fringe back so you can really get in there:

Once the glue is pretty dry, use your markers to draw your heart, initials, and bark onto the bottom tube:

Now, let’s give this tree some character. Wiggle your branches around and curl some of them over a pen:

Using your green paper, cut out a bunch of little leaves for your tree. Here’s how I do it: I cut a scallop all along one edge . . .

Then I cut scallops down along the other side, making a bunch of leaves all in a row. I feel like this is faster. I could be wrong, though.

Next, on the green paper, trace around the bottom of your tree. Free-hand another larger circle around your tree-trace. This will end up being your grass:

Cut out around the larger circle. Trim fringe all the way around, but don’t cut into the small circle. Make lots of “V” shaped cuts and spaces:

Run a bead of glue along the outer bottom edge of your tree:

Here’s where things get a little tricky. Fold your grass up the sides of your tree and press it firmly to make sure it sticks. You will probably have to alternate cupping the tree and grass in your palm and pressing the bottom onto the table:

Once your grass is looking good and the glue is starting to dry, it’s time to start attaching your leaves. I put one or two on each branch:

Once all the leaves are on, you can call it a day, OR you can add a little extra reenforcement to the bottom of your tree. I cut out a flower shape from red paper and attached it to the bottom and on the sides:

Alrighty, that’s it! You can fill a cello bag with candy to put inside of it, or fill it with little love notes, or put personalized pencils in it, or . . . just about anything.

Just a note: If you are squeamish about TP tubes, by all means, use another kind of tube.

 

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