So happy to be sharing the completed Paper Mache Tree project! It's been years in the making; mainly because I start projects but then get sidetracked which means I have lots of half finished projects around my house. But, sometimes I do complete them!
This tree stands in my girls' room. It's made of wire and paper mache, and then painted. I did glue some brown tissue paper on to 'undercoat' the trunk brown so I wouldn't have to paint it as much, and it also doubled up as good bark texture.
I love having a creative house. I think of my house like a big art canvas. So much potential. Be gone white walls! (As I keep saying to my husband, who mildly cringes every time I attack a blank wall, what did you expect when you married an artist!?)
I attached fairy lights to the roof, and stamped the roof with a home made leaf stamp and pinned up some fabric and paper.
The walls are painted with acrylic paints. I just used students acrylics because it's cheaper for a big area. The did the job.
I also added some fake plants which really helped with the overall look.
So, you can lie down beneath the tree and gaze up into the tree tops...
(tweet, tweet)
...and watch the butterflies flit by.
Or you can crawl inside to rest or read a favourite book.
Watch out! There are already cheeky friends inside ;)
Bunnies are drawn to the tree; they love it inside. Especially if you pat them. In fact; lots of little creatures come in and out visiting the tree often.
So bring your cushions along and enjoy yourself in the forest.
You can see other progress posts about this project here:
And a big thank you to Tracey of Phlox Dragon Designs for taking the beautiful photos for me.
I hope you enjoyed looking at my tree project!
Jules :)
Awesome !! That looks fantastic :)
ReplyDeleteHi please can you explain what wire you used for the tree and how you secured it to the wall. Also how did you make the opening I.e what did you do with the edge? Many thanks your project is ace!!
ReplyDeleteThe whole structure was made from chicken wire. If you go to this page http://julesmadden.blogspot.com.au/2013/12/paper-mache-tree-project.html you'll see the wire with the paper mache over the top. I cut open the 'door' at the front and bent the wire over so there were no sharp bits. The structure is screwed into the wall in a few places; it's pretty light weight so it didn't need to much anchoring. So washers and screws were placed in areas where there were joists. I hope that provides enough explanation!
ReplyDeleteYour tree is awesome and inspired me to make one myself! Thank you so much! Greetings from Sweden!
ReplyDeleteЗдравствуйте. Скажите пожалуйста чем Вы красили свое произведение искусства? Спасибо.
ReplyDeleteThanks to the last comment which I translated to read:
ReplyDelete"Hello. Tell me please what did you paint your work of art? Thank you."
I used acrylic paints. For murals I sometimes use some student grade acrylics as they are cheaper, and I also use my good quality acrylic paints as well. :)
Extremely! Amazing!! informative article, well researched and clearly presented. Your hard work shown in your writing. Thank you for the hard work.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely beautiful!
ReplyDeleteHai, a message from the Netherlands. This is awesome! I’m planning on making this tree in a jungle room. But i’ve got a question, in the netherlands we don’t have Brown tissues.... do you think i can use Brown toilet paper or Brown napkins instead? Hope to hear from you soon��
ReplyDeleteHi Larissa,
ReplyDeleteNo I wouldn't use tissues or napkins as they would just break apart when you use them. I'm talking "tissue paper", though you might call it something else in your country!? It's the fine thin paper used for wrapping delicate items, do you know what I mean? Any thin paper that you can wrinkle to get texture would work, and you could just paint it so it doesn't necessarily have to be brown. I hope that helps!!
Hi there! When you painted the tree...did you just use one brown / the same color?
ReplyDeleteHi kro,
ReplyDeleteI think I just used some left over browns I had in my stash- some house paints and cheap student grade acrylics, they might have been watered down a bit which gives variation in colour, it was so long ago now I can't remember the details!
Hi what gage chicken wire did you use?
ReplyDeleteIf you head to this page https://julesmadden.blogspot.com/2013/12/paper-mache-tree-project.html you will see the size of the chicken wire I used. It's probably the one with the largest holes but smaller would also work too! Hope that helps :)
ReplyDeleteHow thick was the chicken wire you used and how easy was it to shape?
ReplyDeleteHi Anonymous, check out the links in the bottom of the post so you can see the size of chicken wire I used, the links point to the other two posts I did for this tree. It was probably the largest size you can get, but smaller gauge would work too. Depending on how strong you want it you could also double up layers of wire if you wanted to. It's pretty easy to bend when you're using thick gloves, as you want to bend the edges over so no sharp bits are sticking out. I hope this helps! :)
ReplyDeleteThis tree is awesome and I am hoping to replicate it in my granddaughter's room. I have several questions. How did you add the chandelier in the tree? And how did you attach the tissue paper? I'm not sure how you made the holes with the cardboard. Could you elaborate? Thank you so much
ReplyDeleteHi Suzanne! First of all, the lights are just fairy lights attached to the ceiling with tiny removable 3M hooks. Please visit the other links at the bottom of the post for extra pictures and info. I made the little holes by first cutting holes in the chicken wire and then using masking tape and cardboard to make the shape, and then paper mache-ing over them. The tissue paper was just paper mache'd on as the last layer, it may be helpful to brush your 'glue' on first then place the tissue paper on, then paint another layer of glue over with a wide soft brush. I hope that helps!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much! I have one more question. What are the approximate dimensions of the completed tree?
DeleteI placed a tape measure on the floor from the left side of the tree to the right side in a semi circle, and it measured 143cm, and tree gets smaller in diameter as it rises. Our ceiling are 2.4 m high and it goes right up to the ceiling. I'd suggest drawing a line on the floor with something erasable like chalk, or with tape so you can see how big the sitting area would be inside of the tree to customise it to what you're after.
ReplyDeleteHow many layers of tissue paper did you put on to get your tree finished?
ReplyDeleteThe tissue paper was just one layer for texture. I used 2 layers of newsprint for the first layers (once dry you can check if it's strong enough for your liking), then add the tissue paper for texture.
ReplyDeleteDid u paper mache 2 layers inside and out
ReplyDeleteFor the question "Did u paper mache 2 layers inside and out"
ReplyDeleteYes I did. I didn't do the tissue paper/ texture layer on the inside, but I did paint it brown. Paper macheing the inside is completely optional but help give a nicer finish and more strength.
Hai Jules,
ReplyDeleteCan u please tell me which colors u used at the tree.
Our tree is almost finished at our little man's room. But I can't find the right color for the tree.
Greetings from the Netherlands
Hi Ferry- I would use a mixture of brown. If your brown is too bright try dulling/darkening it with some black. Do some tests on paper first. You could do a lighter brown undercoat then a watered down dark brown on top to give the effect of texture, and try ragging it off in places. I would suggest looking at some colour mixing charts and doing some tests to get the look you're after.
ReplyDeleteYou inspired me! I want to leave a picture of our enchanted room with paper mache tree but not sure how. 🤷🏼♀️
ReplyDelete