George Washington couldn’t tell a lie, so he told his father that he chopped down the cherry tree. Discuss this famous story while making this fun chenille cherry tree craft this Presidents' Day!
by Amanda Formaro
What you'll need
- 7 brown chenille stems
- 21 red pony beads
- 2 green chenille stems
- Scissors
Helpful Tip:
Pony beads are available in packs of individual colors or large variety packs at your local discount department store or craft supply store. Keep a supply of different color chenille stems for a variety of easy and creative projects. When chenille stems are cut they can have a pointy end. Let children know so that they handle them carefully.
How to make it
Gather all the brown chenille stems, lining them up evenly. Twist together in the center. The top half will be your branches and the bottom half your tree trunk.
Twist the bottom half together, work your way down leaving about 2” at the bottom for the roots.
Spread the roots out so that the tree stands on its own. If your tree is too top heavy, trim about 1.5” off of each tree branch.
Spread the branches out.
Cut the green chenille stems into 2” pieces.
Fold a green chenille piece in half and twist the bottom half of it around a tree branch (closest to the trunk) to create a leaf.
Slide a pony bead onto the branch above the leaf you just created.
Move up about an inch on the branch and repeat steps 6 and 7 twice so that you have a total of 3 leaves and 3 pony beads (cherries) on each branch. Fold the end of the branch over so that the pony bead cherry doesn’t fall off the end.
