Last year for my daughter's 3rd birthday, she wanted a Lion Guard theme for her home party. As part of the decor, I decided to make 2 palm trees, because it went along with the Lion Guard jungle setting, as well as the tropical theme that we have in her bedroom, so I knew that we would use it even after the party was finished.
It is a large, eye-catching feature piece, but didn't take too much time, money or effort to create.
I had empty wrapping paper rolls left over from Christmas (the strong ones), that I knew I was going to use for the trunks. I decided to have a little fun with the leaves, and let my daughter get involved and help.
We got green construction paper, and I had her roughly paint different shades of green streaks in the shape of palm leaves.
I then folded each sheet in half, and cut them into leaf shapes.
I then cut pieces of floral wire to the size of the leaves, and covered them with green floral tape.
I then taped the wires to the back of the leaves. This gives you the ability to shape the leaves later on.
Then it's time for the fun part... take scissors and cut thin strips diagonally, but not all the way to the centre.
I stuffed floral sponge at the top of the trunks, and then it was easy to stick each leaf inside.
For the trunk itself, roughly rip strips of kraft paper and scrunch them up. Wrap them around the wrapping paper roll, using tape where necessary to hold it in place. Gently run your hand up and down the trunk to roughen up the edges to your liking.
Finally, put your tree in a base (box, basket, vase... whatever suits your style) and you're done!
It's more than a year since we've created these, and they're still standing proudly in her room.