A Pom as Lovely as a Tree

Celebrate the fall harvest by creating a miniature apple tree -- or a whole orchard! -- from pom-poms. For a fruitless autumnal tree, use orange, red, green, and brown pom-poms.

What you'll need

• twig
• tacky glue*
• 3/4-inch green and red pom-poms
• air-dry clay
• fork
• acrylic paint

Helpful Tip: * Letting the glue dry is key, but it takes time. Older children (with adult supervision) can shorten the process by using a low-temperature hot-glue gun. Use a light hand to avoid leaving big blobs of glue on the tree.

How to make it

1. First, find a twig with at least three side branches, and trim it so that it's about 6 inches tall.
2. Lay the twig on its side and use tacky glue* to attach 3/4-inch green pom-poms to the branches. Let the glue dry, then rotate the twig and add more pom-poms.
3. Keep adding pom-poms, including a few red pom-poms, until you have your desired tree shape (we used about 50). When the shape is complete, add more red pom-poms to make it look like a bumper crop.
4. Form a base around the trunk of your tree with air-dry clay, adding texture, if you like, with a fork. After the clay is dry, paint it green with acrylic paint.