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Q Tip Art Tree
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How to Make a Q-Tip Fall Tree Painting

Use one of our free tree templates and stamp painted leaves on the page with a bundle of Q-tips. It's so fun and simple to make a colourful Q-tip fall tree painting! 
Active Time15 minutes
Total Time15 minutes
Yield: 1 Q-tip tree painting
Author: Debbie Chapman
Cost: $1

Equipment

Materials

Instructions

Step 1: Find what you need

  • Gather your supplies and materials.
    Q Tip Fall Tree Painting

Step 2: Trace and paint the tree trunk

  • Print one of our free tree templates. You can find one link in the materials list above, with more below this tutorial.
    Q Tip Fall Tree Painting
  • Place a piece of white cardstock on top of the template and trace the tree trunk outline with pencil.
    (You can place the tree template on a well lit window or another light source if you can't see the template well enough.)
    Q Tip Fall Tree Painting
  • Use a paintbrush to add brown paint to the tree trunk. Allow to dry for 5 to 10 minutes.
    Q Tip Fall Tree Painting

Step 3: Prepare the Q-tips

  • Make a bundle of 5 Q-tips and connect them with a rubber band or a piece of tape.
    Q Tip Fall Tree Painting
  • Add fall colours of paint to a paper plate or paint palette. Place them close together so they meet in the middle. We used red, orange, yellow, and green.
    Q Tip Fall Tree Painting
  • Dip one end of the Q-tip bundle into the center of the paint. You can also focus on only 1 or 2 colours at a time, but we like to start by using all the colours.
    Q Tip Fall Tree Painting
  • Then dab the Q-tip bundle lightly off to the side, removing a bit of the paint.
    You don't want too much paint to remain on the Q-tips, or else the paint will transfer in blobs.
    Q Tip Fall Tree Painting

Step 4: Paint leaves with the Q-tips

  • Stamp the Q-tips onto the page, above the trunk or on the tips of the branches, depending which template you use.
    Q Tip Fall Tree Painting
  • You can stamp with the Q-tips several times before getting new paint. Continue stamping until you run out of paint, or the paint looks very faint.
    Q Tip Fall Tree Painting
  • Grab more paint with the Q-tips and continue forming the top of the tree. You can layer the leaves to create a full looking tree, or just go over the area once for a more sparse tree.
    Q Tip Fall Tree Painting
  • You can also use a single Q-tip to add pops of a different colour. Here we added dots of a gold metallic paint to give the tree a nice autumn glow.
    Q Tip Fall Tree Painting
  • Your Q-tip fall tree painting is complete!
    Q Tip Fall Tree Painting

Video

Notes

Looking for more fall crafts? Here's a few of our favourites:
Popsicle Stick Scarecrow
Fall Bean Mosaics
Pine Cone Spider Craft