Paper craft · Starter · about 20 minutes
Torn-Paper Tree Collage
No scissors · Uses glue · No adult help needed
- Sheet of paper for the background, 216 x 279 mm (8.5 x 11 in (Letter) or A4)
- Brown paper, 110 x 140 mm (about 4 x 5.5 in)
- Green paper, 110 x 140 mm (about 4 x 5.5 in)
- Glue stick
- Crayons or markers
Blue dashes: valley fold (toward you). Pink dash-dot: mountain fold (away from you). Thick line with scissors: cut. Yellow: glue.
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Start. Put the background sheet in front of you, standing tall. Keep the brown and green paper beside it.
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1. Tear: Tear a long strip from the brown paper for the trunk. Pull slowly, one hand toward you and one away.
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2. Glue: Rub glue on the back of the trunk and press it on the sheet, standing on the bottom edge.
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3. Tear: Tear one more thin strip from the brown paper, then tear it in half. These are two branches.
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4. Glue: Glue the branches to the top of the trunk, one leaning left and one leaning right.
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5. Tear: Tear the green paper into pieces about as big as a cookie.
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6. Glue: Glue the green pieces all around the top of the trunk. Let them overlap to make a bushy tree.
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7. Draw: Draw grass, red apples and a sun with crayons. Your tree is done!
If something goes wrong
- The paper tears in the wrong direction. Tear slowly with your fingers close together, and turn the paper if it keeps going sideways. Crooked edges still look like bark.
- Pieces fall off when the glue dries. Rub glue all the way to the edges of each piece and press it flat with your palm.
- The tree looks thin. Tear more green pieces and add a second layer on top. Overlap is good.