Tu B’Shevat is a perfect time to get outside, enjoy nature and also think about ways we can help treat the earth and nature more respectfully. One of my favorite ways to do this is by using materials in our home, or ones that can be easily found outside, to make some beautiful artwork.

Nature Painting

Nature painting helps kids of all ages explores textures and patterns in a fun and open-ended way, and also lets them stretch their creativity. First, take a walk around the neighborhood, explore a park or venture into your own backyard. While exploring, ask the kids to pick up any leaves, flowers, branches or rocks and collect them in a small bag. Once you have a variety of nature items, get some paint and canvas or paper and use the items as paint brushes to create beautiful nature-inspired words of art!

collage of photos of kids collecting items to use as nature painting and then them creating their artwork using what they found

Flower Art

Have flowers that are starting to wilt? Save them for this fun art project! Old flowers make the perfect paintbrush to add texture and dimension to your art. For the example below, my oldest helped me paint a tree’s bark and branches. Once dry, the kids picked a couple of old flowers, dipped them into paint and stamped them onto the canvas. I love how textured the trees came out and it was fun watching them layer the colors to create beautiful end results we can display during the holiday. You can use this painting technique to decorate cardboard boxes, stamp on paper or really any solid material.

photo of a table with a bouquet of flowers and kids painting with the flowers and the finished art project

Recycled Centerpiece

Have a bunch of cardboard boxes, toilet paper and paper towel rolls laying around? Over the summer we began putting them to the side for our kids who enjoy making creations out of the recycled materials, which is what gave me the idea to create this fun centerpiece perfect for Tu B’Shevat. To make this, simply cut a piece of a cardboard box into the desired shape and size you want. Paint a solid color, and let dry. Begin thinking about where you want to place the toilet paper and paper towel rolls on the board. This is where you can get creative making a design or pattern or adding different sizes and heights. In order to get the rolls standing up, you’ll need to cut about 4 slits into one end of the roll, and bend those cut pieces so that the rolls can stand when placed on the cardboard surface. Paint the rolls the desired colors and let dry. Once dry, use a tacky glue or glue gun to secure the rolls onto the cardboard in your desired pattern. Let the glue dry before using. When dry and secure, you can add fresh, synthetic or paper flowers to fill each roll and enjoy your beautiful centerpiece.

photo of the start of a recycled flower centerpiece arrangement and the finished project

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