Easy Recycled Tree Craft Ideas for Kids

Use recycled materials to make these tree craft ideas! Our tree craft ideas are perfect for any season. They are a great way to talk to kids about how trees change with the seasons and are a wonderful recycled art and craft project for Earth Day.

Tree Craft Ideas for Kids

We are going to use cookie cutters as stencils to paint leaves on paper bag trees. Cookie cutters are easy stencils that children can move around the paper after painting inside them. The cookie cutter can be turned over, turned diagonally, or just slid down the paper making this a great craft for preschoolers.

Related: 16 Nature Crafts for Kids

Some children jump right into painting and creating. Others prefer to have a little more structure to what they are painting and really like to know that it is going to look like the image they pictured in their minds. Cookie cutter stencils give those types of children the opportunity to relax and just enjoy the process. They open the door for them to take other risks like stencil placement and paint color.

Supplies needed to make recycled paper trees

*Cookie cutters of any shape and size make for easy stencils that could be used to decorate the tree. We happened to have fall leaf and flower cookie cutters of various sizes at our house.

Related: Use recycled material for paper mache projects

Instructions for making recycled paper trees

Step 1

Using a pencil, draw a tree trunk and the top of a tree onto a brown paper bag or piece of cardboard, and then cut them out.

Step 2

Place the leaf or flower cookie cutters onto the paper and then paint inside them like you are using a stencil.

By using a stencil to create the leaves and knowing what they would look like, we open the door to being willing to experiment with some of the other elements of painting.

Colors were also experimented with. Traditional fall colors of orange, red, and yellow can be added to an autumn tree. For spring, you can add colorful flowers to your tree too.

Step 3

Use a glue stick to attach the tree trunk to the top of the tree.

Our finished tree craft ideas

Aren’t these so cute! My kids were so happy with these tree crafts, even said they turned out like something you’d see on Pinterest. And you could even turn this into a fall or sprint craft. Maybe add apples and fall colored leaves for fall and flowers and bright leaves for spring.

The best part is, little hands (think toddler) shouldn’t have a hard time making this easy tree craft especially if you help then with our step by step tutorials. And I firmly believed paint themed art projects is a great way to not only work on fine motor skills and have fantastic fun, but it is good for kids creative outlets.

You can even add it to your lesson plan for Earth day! And it uses basic craft supplies so this tree craft is budget-friendly. If you don’t have brown paper bags you can also use leftover construction paper or tissue paper, whatever you have lying around.

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Have you made our recycled tree craft? Did you use an old cardboard box, paper, or something else?