Monday, March 15, 2010

Mod Podged Hand trees

Last weeks theme for SYTYC was kids crafts. I was shocked to win again. I thought Kristen had it in the bag, but I guess I made a late come back for the 3 point win. I loved this project. I feel so much joy every time I walk past them.
I have to be honest. I love my kids. I love crafts. But I hate kid's crafts. The thing that I hate about them is that five minutes after they have created something, I want to throw it away. I just don't like the clutter.

I knew I had to come up with something I would treasure instead of trash. My kids and I created these beautiful hand trees.
They are personalized with trunks made from their arm and hand. I really enjoyed spending one on one time with each kid as we put these together.

Mod Podge is the perfect medium for kids crafts. You can't mess it up. Since it dries clear you can't see all the mistakes and spills. My kids kept commenting on how much the loved "painting".
Here is how we made them:

What I used:
-Wood Picture Boards -I got mine at Tai Pan Trading Co., they were damaged and 75% off. You could also use a canvas.
- burlap
-scrap fabric
-scissors
- Mod Podge- I used matte, but I think anything you have is fine.
-Permanent marker - to sign name at the end

These are the boards I used. I needed more surface area so I used the back side as my front.

Some of the Fabrics I used: I liked using a heavier fabric, but anything would work. Make sure you have lots of variety. You want the fabrics to work together while still having as many different colors as possible. You don't want all the fabrics to blend together. I used eight different fabrics.
Step 1: I removed the hanger and stickers from the back of my board. I saved the hanger and placed it on the other side when it was time to hang my pictures.
Step 2: I covered the entire board with Mod Podge and layed a piece of burlap, bigger than the board, over the top. Then I used my sharp sewing scissors to cut away the excess burlap till it was straight and flush with the board. If you are using a canvas I would try wrapping the canvas and stapling it to the back instead.
Step 3: Cutting the leaves and hands out. I did all the cutting. I didn't trust my kids with my sharp sewing scissors. I was afraid someone would lose a finger. If your kids are older you might want to let them do this part.

I cut three different sizes of leaves for each pattern.
Tracing and cutting the hands before starting with the Mod Podge, make things easier when everything is covered with goo.
Step 4: Glue everything down.
I helped glue the first four leaves down so my kids had an idea of which direction the leaves should go. Then they took over. They painted the Mod Podge onto the backs of the leaves then placed them were they wanted. I reminded them to cover all the empty spots and to use all the different colors.

Step 5: Once all your leaves are on. They plastered the back of the trunk with Mod Podge and placed it on the picture with the hand in the center of the leaves. You might need to trim some of the trunk so that it is flush with the bottom of the board.
Now they can finish it off by painting over the entire tree with the Mod Podge. It dries clear so don't worry if it looks a little messy.
The leaves dry stiff and look cute if they start to come off the board.

Worthy of being hung in a prominent place my kids are more than happy to show off their handy work. Each tree is different just like my kids.


Visit thecsiproject.com

118 comments:

Oklahoma Granny said...

Great look and love that your kids were involved.

Amy said...

I have to do this! I know exactly what you mean by the kids craft to trash thing. I also love things my kids make that I actually want to keep...we decorated our black/silver themed christmas tree with all homemade ornaments that didn't look homemade this year and I loved it! (there is a search box at my blog if interested:)) Glad I found you at Skip To My Lou!

Elizabeth Lyng said...

Absolutely divine! I love it. I am the same way with my daughter's crafts - but this one would be a keeper...going to try and do this next week, thanks!

Kaysi said...

Seriously Kalleen, how do you come up with all of this stuff, you are absolutely amazing!! You are just boggling my mind right now! So cute!

Unknown said...

That's awesome. Thanks for the idea, this is a perfect spring gift for a grandparent!!

Laura said...

This is amazing! Thank you for the cute idea.

Ovelhinhas Lanudas said...

Great idea. I'll use it with my sabbath school's children. Thanks

Julie Johnson said...

This is such a fantastic idea...and I love the fabrics you chose! Awesome!

Marcia said...

stop having such great ideas, Kalleen! Now there's another thing I have to make. :) Love you!

kim west said...

This is so cute! I didn't even notice that the trunks were the hands! So clever! I'm with you on kids crafts...my daughter hates to throw anything she ever did away!

Rachel@oneprettything.com said...

That is so cute! I love how you can get the whole family in on this. I'll be linking.

Shawna said...

Thank you for your honesty about your kids' crafts! I feel the SAME way and it is a huge guilt relief knowing I am not the only one. That being said, I do love having something to hold onto they childhood with and this is such an awesome idea! And, a GREAT spring break project! Thank you thank you thank you!

tiziana said...

what a great idea and what a beautiful result! congrats! www.biancifiore.com

Charity said...

Oh my friend this is why I stalk you, You are a girl after my own heart. I joke that I started homeschooling so that My kids crafts were something I wanted to keep. I LOVE these, I have been showing you dino land to all my friends with boys, I am dieing to help make one. Have a great week.

Cha Cha

Patrice said...

This is GORGEOUS. My baby girl and I might be making a series of these starting soon! Following you over from Sumo's.

Patrice @Lemon Tree Creations

Christine said...

What a great project!!

Kris said...

Oh my...these are adorable. I can't wait to make them with my 3 babes. Thanks for the great idea!!!

amy said...

oh my! i just love it. i teach 2 1/2 yr. olds at church and this would be a great project to do with them (with modification of course) and send home with them! thanks for posting.

Leslie said...

Awesome! I love these!!! Can't wait to try it!

Gina said...

Amazing! Great idea!

tiziana said...

in my blog there's an award for you! ; )
www.biancifiore.com

Lisa said...

How pretty! And very "grown up" for a kids craft!

Simply Sara said...

What a fabulous idea!
I love it and will definitely be making some trees with my kiddos!

I have to say I just clicked over from 'One Pretty Thing' and have had such a great time reading through your posts!
That super mario cake is WAY AWESOME, my little guy would flip over it! (I just may have to steal your idea for his 7th birthday!)
And those family plates are too cute. I can't wait to make some of those too!
Ahhh.... now I have a bunch more projects added to my too-long-list of things to do :)

Just wanted to encourage you and let you know that your ideas are wonderful!!

Katielin317 said...

So amazing!! What a wonderful treasure these will be for years to come!

jennifer said...

oh my.... How precious is this?! I am going to have to do this!

sarahbellum said...

beautiful project! Can't wait to try with my daughter!

INSANITY ENJOYED said...

These are awesome! I'm totally going to do these for the grandparents (who are coming next week.) Then later I can do ones for our house. Now the hard (and fun) part..picking out fabric

Cate Brickell said...

thank you for sharing this idea! I can see a couple of sets coming up for grandparents for Christmas!

Janna said...

Oh this is precious!

Michael and Annalea said...

Adorable! I'm so making this for the grandparents next Christmas!

Sonia said...

This is fab! I love it more than You would know!

avisiontoremember said...

I love this! that is such a cute idea! I would love for you to link up to check me out saturdays www.iamonly1woman.blogspot.com

Unknown said...

I love this the moment I saw it! I featured this at somedaycrafts.blogspot.com

Elder Esplin said...

Wow! I love these. What a fun way to display hands. Thanks!

Jennie @ Cinnaberry Suite

Erika said...

Such a beautiful yet simple thing to involve the kids in. I love it!!!!

Ale said...

lovely idea... I am going to copycat!!!

Fawnda@Fireflies and Jellybeans said...

Another great idea! I love the fabric that you choose! This are AWESOME! : )

elise said...

love love love love love this!!
you are so right about typical kid crafts.... i feel bad about throwing stuff away that comes home from church and there's no way i'm making it more of it!!! so thrilled to try your great idea, perfect for grandparent gifts too :O)

concretenprimroses said...

Striking! Great idea and beautiful.
Kathy

Mary Beth @ Live. Laugh. Make Something said...

Delightful! I adore kids' art and these are so yummy! ...great job, everyone! I am so glad that I hopped over from Somewhat Simple! Please accept my invitation to drop in at my place one day this week when get a chance. until later...

Jess said...

That turned out wonderful! I absolutely love it!

Jess said...

Those are very cool, and I love that your daughter could help you make them! Come stop by my Favorite Things Friday Party if you would like to join in!

Krystine said...

I just bought all the material to make this project. Cant wait for the weekend to try it with my boys!

Sonia said...

Hi Kalleen, Check out this link where I featured this post: http://kosmicchai.blogspot.com/2010/03/feature-istic-friday-1.html
Do email me the links of your latest crafts if you'd like me to feature them for you for the event 'Feature-istic Friday'!
Thanks!!

Amy @ Positively Splendid said...

Amazing!! I really must do this with my kiddos!

Lori said...

What a fun project! These turned out great!

Thanks for joining Get Your Craft On Thursday at Life As Lori... Please join me next week for another great party!

Carolyn @ My Backyard Eden said...

Amazing! They are creative and beautiful. Your kids must have had a ball with the Mod Podge.

Thanks for linking up to Make it Yours Day at My Backyard Eden!

S said...

I TOTALLY love this idea! I wish my kiddos were older (mine are 2 and 3 months) but I'm going to print this out and add it to my things to do binder. Thanks for sharing!

Sara @ Best Thing Since Slice Bread

Fawnda@Fireflies and Jellybeans said...

I just wanted to let you know that I am featureing you (agian!) today at:
http://firefliesandjellybeans.blogspot.com/2010/03/sunday-spotlight-soys-favorites_21.html

Unknown said...

I had seen your idea around the blogosphere and just now realized they were hands. This is adorable! Great idea!

Sarah said...

What a great idea! You'll treasure these forever!!!
God's blessings,
Sarah :D

Ocean said...

This is such an awesome idea!!! I may definitely have to try this with my kids. Looks gorgeous!!!

Gay Vaughan said...

Really nice job! Thank you so much for sharing and linking up to my party. I love seeing what you have been up to. Hope to see you again!
~Gay~
itsahodgepodgelife.blogspot.com

Sawdust Girl said...

That is so flipp'n cute. I feel the same about kids projects not always being display worthy. This definitely is. Thanks for sharing.
http://sawdustandpaperscraps.blogspot.com

Student Entrepreneur said...

I featured you over on my blog!! I love your kid tree art!!! Thanks!!

http://midwesterngoneidahoan.blogspot.com/

Gay Vaughan said...

Thank you for sharing! I will be featuring in my party wrap-up. Hope to see you again.
~Gay~
itsahodgepodgelife.blogspot.com

Chellie said...

I was sharing your cake fondant with a friend when I browsed your other ideas and about had a heart attack! I think EVERY SINGLE PROJECT you have made is now on my TO DO LIST! Thank you, and be prepared to be linked up to our small craft blog; you are an inspiration!

Carolyn @ My Backyard Eden said...

Just wanted to let you know I featured your project this week at My Backyard Eden!

http://mybackyardeden.blogspot.com/2010/03/make-it-yours-highlights_22.html

Unknown said...

I saw this on Studio Five

Andy Porter said...

How cute! At first glance, I didn't notice those were hands. Too much fun!!

Anonymous said...

Just found your blog. I LOVE LOVE LOVE this project. I am going to have to try it with my little one.

Jen @ tatertotsandjello.com said...

Awesome project! I love it. I didn't realize that those were hands -- but what a great idea!

Thanks so much for linking it up to my party!

XOXO
Jen

Connie said...

I am completely in love with this idea! I love trees and this is the prefect project for us!

Amy said...

I LOVE this and I am going to do it with my kids. Thank you for sharing.

I am your newest blog followers.
Blessings,
Amy

Janelle said...

This is so cute - Thanks for sharing your creativity.

Found your blog and am now a follower.
=)
Janelle

Mommy of Two 24/7 said...

I absolutely *love* this project!! I have 2 canvas pieces that I didn't know what to do with! Now, I have to get some fabric to do this project! Thank you for such a unique keepsake project! :)

Sleepyhead Designs Studio said...

Wonderful, wonderful! I've got to file this away for inspiration for an art lesson. Thanks for sharing!

Anonymous said...

Love it specially b/c your kids had fun with you making those.

Kelly said...

Just found your blog and I think that has to be my all time favorite kids project! I may have to try this one myself..I love that the kids can help create such a beautiful piece of art that would great in a kids room, family room, hallway, etc.. Thanks so much for the inspiration!

Heather said...

What a beautiful heirloom! I LOVE, love, love it! ;-)

Heather said...

I love it! Here is may take on it...

http://heatherandkenny.blogspot.com/2010/04/some-crafty-crafts.html

Nina said...

Love it!

Uska Hope said...

Wow! I loved the idea, very original!

Congratulations on the blog. I'll be following you and yo!

Give a little jump there in my area ... Rsrsr. I will be happy with his little visit!

Fioriture delle Arti (uskab2.blogspot.com) Renovating, decorating, planting, cooking, writing and delighting in the arts ...

Hugs and success baby!

Tara said...

This is amazing. I would love to have you be a guest blogger over at Trendy Treehouse with this fabulous project. I am filing this a a must do with my 4 kiddos. Thanks for sharing.

Rebekah Greiman said...

I love this craft. It is so cool, in fact, that this childless woman is going to do this for her house....
You might enjoy doing this craft with your kids. It is really simple (scrap piece of plywood and leftover paint) and turns out very modern:
http://www.potholesandpantyhose.com/A/Arts_%26_Crap_Archives/Entries/2010/4/11_Scrappy_Plywood_Art.html

Deidre said...

I linked you at www.wecraftdaily.blogspot.com

LOVE this project!

Sidnie said...

This is such a cute craft!
We live far away from home, and I'm always looking for cute ways to send thoughtful gifts home to family...
This would be perfect with our boys hands for Mother's Day gifts!
The grandmothers would LOVE it!

sharon said...

what a great idea!!!

Stacie said...

These are tooo CuTe...and priceless! The perfect gift. Thanks for sharing this fun idea...and linking to my I {heart} mom link!! :)

Sabrina said...

Thanks for sharing such a neat way to capture the little hands of my kids while they're still little. Very cool!

The Comfort Girl said...

I think this is probably one of my all time favorite crafts I've seen. :) Thanks for sharing- I'm buying materials TODAY and having my kids make two for my house.

Anonymous said...

Those are stinkin' Awesome!!!

NTECSFAMILY said...

I think I am going to do them for Mother's Day for my mom and for me!!! I also that that it would be cute to have cute flower blossoms on the tree for my daughters to bring in some pink! You could also do apples or something also..since my mom's kitchen is apples I am going to put some on the boys trees. Thanks for the idea!!! I have one of those mom's that if she doesn't have it she can buy it so it's hard to come up with ideas for gifts for her. This really hit the spot!!!

HeARTworks said...

Terrific idea and so easy to do! Love it!

LeeAnne said...

Loved this so much that I went out and bought the materials the very next day :) My 3 year old son and I made one for my Mom for Mother's Day and she loved it! And we plan on making one more for me in our home, as well as one to send to his other Grandma (she is from Nicaragua, and her Mother's day is on May 30, so we have more time hehehe).

Mama Gone Green said...

Wow! These look amazing!

christina said...

I am so glad I found your blog again! Last week we made the mod podge tree for my husband for fathers day. When I went to blog about I couldnt remember where I saw the idea and just gave credit to "someone out there." Then thankfully someone reading my blog sent me your link. So I added your button to my blog, hope you don't mind. Just let me know if you do. I just like to give credit where credit is due! Love your blog by the way, cute kids!

Unknown said...

As allways perfect job!! they look great!

kristelknab said...

We did this craft yesterday with our Sunday School for Father's Day. Our kids LOVED it! It also tied in great with our family of god/family tree lesson. Our kids were so creative with it too, I wish I had photos to share with you -- some put their hands upside down so the roots were their fingers, others saved some leaves to scrunch up at the end to put ontop of their hands to make it seem more 3d, and still others did it sideways and had the leaves all going in one direction like they were blowing in the wind! It went over so well, I just had to say a big THANK YOU for the great idea!

Julia said...

I'm with you. I was a teacher for 33 years adn I usually tried to think of kids' art that was somewhat savable! This is wonderful. I'm going to share it with my daughters.

Maggie said...

This is sooooooooooooo cute. I really LOVE it!

Missy said...

very cool! love it!

greenbean said...

LOVE THIS!....

Kara @ Mine for the Making said...

Absolutely LOVE this idea!!! Cant wait to do it with my lil one!

From The Heart Crafts said...

Your tree hand art is wonderful! Wish I had seen this years ago. Do you think my 20yr old son would still go for it? lol...not! Too bad for me.

sportzmom said...

This is one of the coolest things I have ever seen. I am going to do them with my kids tomorrow. So glad I found this!

evaharp said...

I am working on my baby girls "big girl" room and this will be perfect art!!! I can't wait. You are truly blessed with creativity.

Thank you,

Emilie Glyn said...

I loved this idea so much that I made them using my boys and they are hanging in my living room right now! I posted them and credited you in the post. THanks again for the brilliant project tutorial!
http://mommybreathblog.blogspot.com/2010/08/crafty-as-promised.html

Anonymous said...

Love these! Made a couple for my soon to be arriving neice's nursery. Thanks for the inspiring idea!

Love being a follower of your blog!
http://itstoilegood.blogspot.com/2010/08/trees-for-tessa.html

Decor Roomies said...

Kalleen,
We are big kids (in college) and we decided to do a spin-off of this project as a decoration for our apartment.
We haven't posted the step-by-step yet, but come over to our newly formed blog @ decorroomies.blogspot.com to see what we came up with.
Thanks for the inspiration, we love our new pieces of art!
-Allison and Chelsea @ Decor Roomies

Nicole Heinlein said...

I just linked this in my blog post about projects I want to try in 2011. Thanks for the inspiration!

http://nicolescraftingadventure.blogspot.com/2010/12/happy-new-year.html

Kim said...

love this!
I am the same way with crafts my kids make!
Need to make this one and cherish forever!

Nicole said...

I absolutely love these! I made my own but cheated and used scrapbook paper and a cricut! I admire you for cutting all those leaves out!
Thanks for the inspiration. I get the most comments about the trees than anything else in my house!

I linked to your post so they could get all the details!
http://ahomeforabunny.blogspot.com/2011/01/our-grove-hand-trees.html

Diana said...

I, too, LOVE these! What a great, unique piece. I actually really love how the boards turned "backwards" makes them float off the wall a little.

Amanda said...

wow.... i will be making these for sure. Thanku sooo much for sharing

Amanda

Ginny of Sunflowers at Home said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Ginny of Sunflowers at Home said...

Just wanted to let you know that I shared my version of this great project on www.sunflowersathome.blogspot.com today. thanks so much for sharing with us!

Chelsea said...

I absolutely LOVE this idea, yours are so beautiful! We did a simple paper version today which I posted about here http://veritabletreasure.blogspot.com/2011/04/seventh-day-of-ridvan-2011.html My son is 2 and a half so in a few years I plan to do your project again closer to your original idea! Thanks!

Steph said...

This is awesome; it's such a great idea for the kids to do. I'll definitely add this to my must do projects with them.

Džiadžojka-san said...

Divine work! Special and unique.
Can you just tell me please - do you use just a Mod Podge to glue everything (leaves, hands...), or you use some other glue also?

Anonymous said...

A adore this idea! I am sharing it on my blog as a craft/art idea. Thank you for sharing your creativity!

Olga-ekb said...

Kalleen, thank you very much for the idea! My daughter and I enjoyed making our tree. Here is what we got: http://olga0207.com/2011/11/06/дерево-ребёнка/

Lilly said...

Thank you so much for posting this. I have had this saved on my delicious.com site and now it is on my pinterest sit as well. I posted pics on my blog of how mine turned out. Very cute idea!! It may turn into a tradition to see how much the kids hands grow over the years!

http://wavesofinspiration-byjill.blogspot.com/2011/12/getting-creative-for-christmas.html

Nadine said...

I Love this idea, I can't wait try this with my Son.

Jane said...

My son is 33 years old but I love the project. I am going to make these for myself. They are very nice looking with an original aire about them. I am going to make at least 2 of them! Thanks!!!

Flávia e Cristiana said...

Este é um trabalho bonito, facil de fazer e que as crianças podem ajudar! Adorei. Um abraço.

sarahbellum said...

Finally, after seeing this lovely project two years ago, my girls and I tackled this project today. Thank you for sharing, we had a great time creating as a family.

Lisa Holman said...

I love this activity and am planning on doing with my class. Can you use scrapbook paper in lieu of fabric?

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