ardee's creation

Hello everyone!

Today let’s talk about a project I've been working on for the past month. It started with a post from Instructables by s4loking about Cardboard Bonsai Tree.

He/she wrote an instructables of making a bonsai tree with the tree trunk made from cardboard! How cool is that?! As it also happens that cardboard is my favourite craft material =) I've been keeping this in my project list for so long. And finally I’m able to find my time to work on it during the last few weeks. s4loking has listed all the instructions needed so I won’t be giving any details steps here but I do make some changes and additional items for the project. 

So first let’s look at the materials:

So why do I need two types of cardboard? Well, the idea is to make the bonsai tree with the corrugated cardboard and the cardboard/paperboard as a bonsai pot. Now it’s going to be a cardboard bonsai tree with a cardboard bonsai pot. Double cool.

First step, to cut (a lot) the cardboard as the base of the bonsai tree trunk. This is actually the difficult part for me as there is no template and I have no idea how big the tree should be. In the end I just have to trust in my artistic ability (lol) and started to cut few shapes to be stacked together to build the trunk. The difficult process is the start of the base but once you have build up the stack you can see how your tree is formed and you can add more ‘branches’ to make it look like a real bonsai tree. 

As all the things in life, the first step is always difficult =)

The bonsai tree would not be perfect without the leaves. I use some dried flowers as the tree leaves and here’s the best part, the flower stem is easily glued on to the gap of the corrugated cardboard. Which make it more practical to use the corrugated carboard as the tree trunk. Brilliant!

And here are the two bonsai trees that I made:

It is beautiful as it is but since the colour of the leaves is rather dull I later paint some of the leaves to make it look like blooming flowers on the trees.

Next is to make the flower pot, or bonsai tree pot in this case. First is to draw the templates on a piece of cardboard.

Then cut the templates to smaller pieces,

And with the magic glue it’s all done!

After a moment later of painting, spraying, decorating, gluing, cutting and further decorating I finally completed my first cardboard bonsai project. Hope you like it as much as I have fun in making it.

ardee

May 2015