Making Plants & Trees for a Diorama

Explore the many ways you can create plants and trees for your diorama using simple materials like paper, crepe paper and feathers.

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Bushes Ferns and Tropical lants Flowers and otted lants !rass alm tree Tree

Safety Tips
Watch out for this sign . It means adult help is needed for the particular step.

Materials

Brown cardstock or construction paper "repe paper or tissue paper Scissors White glue Feathers ipe cleaner Scotch tape Flower se#uins, flowers, paper or craft flowers

1. Bushes

"olor some cotton green following these steps. $nce dry, fluff up the cotton and shape them into %ushes. !lue the %ushes onto your diorama. !lue on some flower se#uins or craft foam flowers if you like. && et 'o(er)s *iorama +nother simple idea for making %ushes is to scrunch up some green tissue paper or crepe paper and glue them on to your diorama.

2. Ferns and Tropical Plants

. Making Ferns out of Feathers

Bunch up a%out , green feathers and %ind them at the %ase with tape. +rrange the feathers so that they fan out like a real fern. && Box -oo

B. Making Ferns and Tropical Plants out of !repe Paper

"ut crepe paper or tissue paper into a long strip. /ine is a%out .0 x 1 .. inches. /ake a .2inch wide fold on one short edge. "ontinue to fold the entire length accordion2style 3%ack2and forth folding4.

0.

*raw a diagonal line on the topmost fold, starting from the top corner to a%out half2an2inch a%o(e the %ottom corner.

5. "ut along the line.

1. To make a fern, cut fringes along the cur(ed edge.

6. "arefully unfold. This would %e how the fringed fern would look like.

+nd this is how a plain one 3without the fringes4 looks like.

,.

While holding the strip on the %ottom corner, slowly gather the crepe paper towards the center.

7. Bind the %ase with tape to hold the plant in place.

8. +rrange the lea(es so that they fan outwards.

9Instead of drawing a plain diagonal line in Step 0, try experimenting with :ig:ags, curly, or other lines to come up with uni#ue leaf shapes. && *inosaur *iorama

&& ;ainforest *iorama

!. Making Philodendrons and "ther #arge$#eafed Plants

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"ut out heart2shaped lea(es out of green construction paper or card stock. <se a pair of wa(y edge or scallop edge craft scissors if you want the lea(es to ha(e wa(y edges. *raw (eins on each leaf using markers or colored pencils. "ut a length of green floral wire or pipe cleaner to make a stem. !lue a stem %ehind each leaf. +llow the glue to dry.

0.

Twist the %ottom of the stems together.

5.

Bend each stem towards a different direction so that the lea(es fan out like a real philodendron plant. Flatten the %ottom end of the stems %efore gluing it onto the diorama. && ;ainforest *iorama

%. Flo&ers and Potted Plants

"ut out your own flowers from paper or craft foam. =ou can also use pre2made paper or foam flowers, se#uins, or %eads. oke a small hole at the center of each flower. Insert one end of a pipe cleaner, craft wire, or toothpick to make the stem. +dd a round paper or foam shape, or a small %ead on top to make the flower center. Fold the end of the pipe cleaner or wire >utting out from the top. && !arden *iorama "reate a leafy plant following the steps in the pre(ious section on ?Ferns and Tropical lants?. To add a flower, insert a craft wire or pipe cleaner at the center of the plant. lace a craft foam or paper flower at the tip of the wire. && *inosaur *iorama Bottle caps make nice and colorful pots. Fill them with clay or dough then plant some flowers or paper plants into them. The plant in this photo was made %y cutting , leaf shapes out of green construction paper and planted one at a time into the pot. && /iniature Bedroom

'. (rass

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"ut green or yellow ochre2colored paper into a rectangular piece. "ut %lades of grass along one long edge of the paper.

0.

!lue the strip %elow an animal)s legs, at the %ase of a tree, or onto the %ox)s wall.

5.

To create grass that can stand on its own, fold the strip of grass at the %ase to create a %ottom ta%. !lue the %ottom ta% onto the ground. && +frican Sa(anna *iorama

). Palm Tree
"ut %rown cardstock or construction paper into a small rectangle. /ine is a%out 5.6 x 0 inches. The length of the rectangle corresponds to your palm tree)s height. ;oll the rectangle along its long side. !lue the edge in place to come up with a cylindrical tree trunk.

..

0.

/ake the palm tree lea(es %y following Steps . to 7 for making a crepe paper fern.

5.

+pply some white glue around the %ase of the palm lea(es and insert it into the tree trunk.

1.

"arefully open up the layers of palm lea(es. && *inosaur *iorama

&& /ini Beach

*. Tree

*raw a tree trunk on card%oard or thick cardstock. =ou can also print out this Tree 3Template @.4 on +1 or 'etter si:e cardstock. "ut out the tree .. trunk. *raw a straight line from the %ranches to the roots. This marks the straight edge where the tree will %e attached to the side of the shoe%ox. Fold %ack the trunk along this line to create the side ta%s.

Fold %ack along the %ase to make a %ottom ta%. aint the tree trunk or co(er it with %rown crepe paper for a textured effect. 0. osition the tree in your diorama %y gluing the side and %ottom ta%s onto the %ox. "ut green crepe paper into strips. "rumple them up slightly and glue them onto the %ranches and onto the edges of the %ox. && +frican Sa(anna *iorama 5. && *inosaur *iorama

&& ;ainforest *iorama