Tu B'Shevat Crafts
Clay Tree Bank
What You'll Need:
- One empty salt container (the kind with a spout)
- 1 cup white flour
- 1 cup water
- Food coloring
- Poster paints
How to Make It:
Peel the label off the salt container and open the spout. Mix the flour and water to form a thick paste. Add food coloring, one drop at a time, until you get a color you like. With a flat, blunt knife, spread the paste over the top and sides of the salt container, as though you were frosting a cake. Air dry for 24 hours, then paint with poster paints.Put your new "Tree Bank" in a prominent place in your house and ask your family to help by putting in their spare change. On Tu B'Shevat, open the container and see how much you've saved! You can go to the Jewish National Fund's Online Tree Planting Center to order a tree to be planted in Israel in honor of anyone you want to name.
Leafy Tree Bank
What You'll Need:
- One empty coffee can with plastic lid
- Scissors
- Construction paper
- Glue
- Markers or crayons
- Leaves, flowers and small twigs
How to Make It:
Ask a grownup to help you cut a slot in the center of the plastic lid and to cut a piece of construction paper to fit around the coffee can, with an inch or so overlap for the seam. Cover the coffee can in the construction paper, and glue the overlap down to keep the construction paper cover firmly in place. Decorate the paper with markers or crayons. Glue leaves, flowers and small twigs to make a beautiful nature bank for your tree savings. (See above for ordering trees to be planted in Israel.)
Flower Pot
What You'll Need:
- One clean, plain terra cotta flower pot
- Poster paints
- Small stones
- Potting soil
- Seeds (sunflower seeds work well)
How to Make It:
Paint the pot with the poster paints in a colorful design of trees and flowers. When the paint has completely dried, place 1 inch of small stones loosely in the bottom of the pot. Fill the pot with soil, up to an inch or two from the rim (this will leave some room for water so it doesn't overflow). Gently press several seeds into the soil with your fingertip. Brush a little soil over the seed to cover it and water gently. Water every other day or when the soil feels dry. Make sure that, when you test the soil for dryness, you poke a fingertip about an inch into the soil. If the soil an inch below the surface feels dry, water your plants, being careful not to flood them. Within a few weeks you should have several lovely new plants!
Terrarium
What You'll Need:
- Two clear 2-liter soda bottles
- Small pebbles
- Sand
- Potting soil
- Several very small plants
- Small rocks, marbles, interesting wood chips, bark or other decorative objects
How to Make It:
Ask a grownup to help you cut one bottle about 4 inches from the bottom. This will be the base of your terrarium. Then cut the second bottle about 9 inches from the bottom. This will be the lid. Layer a half inch of small pebbles in the bottom of the base, followed by a half inch of sand, then 2 inches of potting soil. Gently place the plants into the soil, being careful not to cover the green stems. Arrange the rocks, marbles and other objects around the plants. Water until the soil is moist but not soggy. Slip the top over the base and you've made your own greenhouse! Put the terrarium in sunny place and watch you're plants grow!
Bird Feeder
What You'll Need:
- Cardboard toilet paper roll
- 24-inch length of yarn
- Peanut butter
- Paper plate
- Bird seed (small seed works best)
How to Make It:
Pull the yarn through the hole in the toilet paper roll. Spread the peanut butter all around the outside of the roll with the back of a spoon (or use a blunt knife with a grownup's help). Pour the bird seed on a paper plate, and roll toilet paper roll in the seed to it sticks to the peanut butter. Tie the ends of the yarn together. Hang your bird feeder on a tree or bush and watch the birds appear for a tasty treat!
Leaf Place Mats
What You'll Need:
- Leaves
- Two sheets wax paper
- Large heavy books
- Construction paper or colored poster board
- Clear contact paper
- Glue
How to Make It:
Take a walk and look at the trees and bushes around you! Collect some leaves (they need to be a bit flexible; if they're too dry, they'll crumble). When you get home, place the leaves between the sheets of wax paper, then lay several heavy books on top of them. In a few days, carefully remove the leaves and glue them to a sheet of construction paper or poster board. Cover with clear contact paper, leaving a little overlap. Turn the sheets over and cover the back with an additional piece of contact paper. Trim off the excess from around the edges. You can use your place mats as a beautiful way to dress up the Tu B'Shevat seder table!
Leaf Mobile
What You'll Need:
- Leaves
- One sheet light-colored paper
- Crayons
- Four 12-inch lengths of thread
- Tape
- Two paint stirrers, popsicle sticks or straight twigs
- 24-inch length of yarn
- Ceiling hook
How to Make It:
Place four leaves vein side up on a table. Place the sheet of light-colored paper over the leaves and rub over them with a crayon. Cut out the leaf shapes and tape a strand of thread to the back of each. Tie each leaf stencil to an end of each paint stirrer, popsicle stick or twig. Tie the two stirrers, sticks or twigs together in the center to form an X. Tie the yarn to the top of the mobile at the X and attach it to a ceiling hook.