Clara and I worked on this simple Autumn painting project together this afternoon, and I think it is one of my all-time favorites! I was so pleased with how well it turned out, and I wish you could have been here to see the look of pure joy on her face when she spotted the paints on the table!!
I drew the trunk of the tree using markers, and set out some washable paints and corks for Clara to stamp the leaves. A little masking tape helped keep everything in place, and she had SO much fun!
Ooooooo……Red paint too? This is awesome!
A little two-handed stamping action going on… fun!!
Did you know that this little one loves to sing while she paints? Oh yes.
I think combined with Emily’s Winter Tree Silhouette, we’re on our way to making some fabulous calendar prints, don’t you?
Have fun!!
October 29th, 2010 on 2:06 pm
Dear Valerie,
Ummm… how did we end up with so many corks? O:-)
Love,
Mark
October 29th, 2010 on 2:59 pm
We need to entertain more… we’re down to just two now!!
October 29th, 2010 on 2:18 pm
This turned out fabulous! I wish we drank wine so I could get some corks
October 29th, 2010 on 3:02 pm
LOL I ask people to save them for us, just so we can craft with them!
October 29th, 2010 on 2:22 pm
Great idea!
October 29th, 2010 on 3:04 pm
Thanks so much, Jenae! xoxo
October 29th, 2010 on 2:22 pm
So pretty! We’ll have to try this. We used corks to stamp a pumpkin patch last week.
October 29th, 2010 on 3:04 pm
I remember that! They were adorable!!!
October 29th, 2010 on 2:23 pm
Mark,
I only have two corks. Maybe I need to invite you and Valerie to my house to drink some of our wine!!!
Christy
October 29th, 2010 on 3:08 pm
Only 2 corks?? We can’t have that, now can we? The children’s art supplies are at stake, for goodness sake!!
October 29th, 2010 on 2:27 pm
Cute! This works great with small chunks of bread instead of corks, too.
October 29th, 2010 on 3:10 pm
Thanks, Marya! Love that idea!! We’ll have to give it a go!
October 29th, 2010 on 3:07 pm
Hmmm- I do believe we would have make our tree leaves with Sparkling Cider Lids…it’s our “wine” of choice! ;0)
October 29th, 2010 on 3:09 pm
Awesome!! LOL Have fun!!
October 29th, 2010 on 3:52 pm
It’s gorgeous. Thanks so much for sharing your projects with the world
P.S. We have neither corks, nor wine…we may have to try the bread idea.
November 1st, 2010 on 10:47 pm
You are very welcome! I think bread would work really well. Have fun!! xoxo
October 29th, 2010 on 3:58 pm
It’s beautiful! As is Clara – so nice to see her grow from a baby to a little girl. I think my son would probably stamp 5 times and say it was all done; I am impressed your girls stay with the art long enough to make such a beautiful end product.
November 1st, 2010 on 10:49 pm
Thanks so much, Lynn! She absolutely loves to paint, but I think she really gets into the projects if I can sit down at the table and paint with her (which I almost always do, because I can’t help myself)! It’s so much fun!!
October 29th, 2010 on 4:07 pm
Back when I was teaching, the teacher before me left a big HUGE bag of corks in the room. I so took those home when I quite teaching.
I mean really, who wouldn’t want to keep that?
That, did however beg the question, did teaching drive her to drink?
November 1st, 2010 on 10:50 pm
ROFL!!! That. Is awesome!
October 29th, 2010 on 4:19 pm
I’m sure fishing cork would work, too
The tree turned out great. It’s always fun to find projects for small hands, that still look good around the house!
November 1st, 2010 on 10:52 pm
Great idea!!! There’s really no wrong way to do this project — those are some of my favorite kinds of crafts. Have fun!
October 29th, 2010 on 4:58 pm
What an awesome tree!
Great idea too, I just bought a box of dot-a-dot markers for the same purpose, but I’m totally taking them back now
November 1st, 2010 on 10:53 pm
Fantastic!! It’s so much fun! Enjoy!!
October 29th, 2010 on 5:29 pm
Very fun! I’m impressed she only stamped on the paper!
November 1st, 2010 on 10:54 pm
Me too!!! She must be getting the hang of all this painting, I guess.
But I had some freezer paper on the table — just in case! 
October 29th, 2010 on 6:37 pm
That is cute! We need some corks!
November 1st, 2010 on 10:54 pm
LOL We need to throw a big party, and then I’ll send some your way!
October 29th, 2010 on 8:25 pm
You could always ask for corks (or bottle caps, etc) at a restaurant or bar. Just think how many art supplies those places throw out on a good night.
November 1st, 2010 on 10:56 pm
That is brilliant, Alexa!!!! I bet they have a bunch!!
October 29th, 2010 on 9:42 pm
Love it! Corks and all ~ bright and beautiful ~ frugal {unless you count the cost of the corks!} and fun!
November 1st, 2010 on 10:57 pm
Thanks, Michelle!!
October 29th, 2010 on 10:32 pm
Looks beautiful !! Have to go cork hunting now lol
Heres our autumn tree printing..
http://puttiprapancha.blogspot.com/2010/10/blow-paint-trees.html
November 1st, 2010 on 10:57 pm
It is SO pretty!!! I’m so glad you shared this!! xoxo
October 30th, 2010 on 1:38 am
Oh, now you’re talking! This is a craft I can totally relate to. A little somethin’ for me and a little somethin’ for the kids! Love the cork stamps!
November 1st, 2010 on 11:02 pm
ROFL!!!
October 30th, 2010 on 7:10 am
Simply amazing… , what a great fun !!! Love it
-Smita
littlefoodjunction.blogspot.com
(fun food ideas for kids )
November 1st, 2010 on 11:03 pm
October 30th, 2010 on 8:44 am
LOVE the end result! It turned out beautifully!! My daughter loves to stamp with corks too…I think it has something to do with the way it feels in their hand! It’s just the right size.
November 1st, 2010 on 11:04 pm
We’ve done lots of stamping projects with corks before, but I love how open-ended this particular project was. It’s SO much fun!! Enjoy!!!!
October 30th, 2010 on 9:23 am
beautiful!
November 1st, 2010 on 11:05 pm
Thanks so much, Vanessa!! xoxo
October 30th, 2010 on 11:14 am
awwww look at how grown up she’ looks. What a fun project for her and looks great on the wall too. Where on earth do you store so many crafts?
November 1st, 2010 on 11:07 pm
I can’t believe how fast she’s growing! I don’t really store very many of them, although there are several projects on display in frames around the house. Mostly, we just save the photos of them — which I really treasure because I can see the looks on their faces while they’re doing the projects!! Great question!
October 30th, 2010 on 11:33 am
I never would’ve thought of using corks, or saving them for calendar prints! Brilliant!
November 1st, 2010 on 11:08 pm
Oh, yes, seasonal art like this is perfect for a calendar! Have fun crafting with the kiddos!! xoxo
October 31st, 2010 on 2:12 am
Valerie,
Big fan! Two important questions –
First, how do you store all your art/craft items, tools, etc? Any good suggestions?
Also, do you have an actual draft budget you could post as resource for us other wanna-be frugal families?
Thank you!
November 1st, 2010 on 11:12 pm
Hi Tina! This is a very old post, but it explains how we store lots of the craft stuff. http://www.frugalfamilyfunblog.com/2009/01/day-we-unplugged-part-ii.html
I think a draft budget is a great idea for a future post! I’ll keep you updated, and I’m SO happy to hear you’re enjoying FFFB! xoxo
October 31st, 2010 on 7:32 pm
Carrots work great for circle stamping (and for non-drinkers like me).
November 1st, 2010 on 11:12 pm
LOVE that idea!!!! Brilliant!
November 1st, 2010 on 5:32 pm
What a beautiful tree – I love the fact that Clara sings while painting.
November 1st, 2010 on 11:13 pm
It is the sweetest thing — one of these days I’ll video tape it. She really gets into painting!
November 5th, 2010 on 8:09 pm
She is an awesome job, it came out great!
September 4th, 2011 on 1:48 pm
Am wanting to do this project, but need to do it with multiple kids…so I am wondering how you did the tree trunk part-and if you have a template for it. Or if you found it somewhere? I am not very artistic.
Thanks!
September 16th, 2011 on 10:12 am
Wonderful! I love it!
September 20th, 2011 on 8:41 pm
I set this up for my daughter after nap and it was a lot of fun. Next she wants to do an apple tree using the red paint and cork top.