Cherry Blossom Painting

What You Need:

• Paper
• Tape
• Toilet paper roll
• Scissors
• Glue
• Black paint
• Red or pink paint
• Wax paper
• Paint brush

What You Do:

1. Help your child cut the toilet paper roll into loops, each approximately ½ an inch tall. 
2. Have them use these loops to create oblong cat’s eye shapes. 
3. Lay out a sheet of waxed paper to protect the work surface.
4. Have your child glue the cat’s eye shapes together to form the petals of a cherry blossom flower. 
5. Help them tape together sheets of paper to make their Japanese scroll.
6. Let your child paint a black branch across this scroll.  It shouldn’t be too complicated because they want to leave plenty of space for the flowers.
7. While the black paint dries, have them squeeze a pool of red or pink tempera paint onto the wax paper.  
8. Spread it out with the brush so that it is slightly bigger than the flower they have made.
9. They should place the flower in the pink or red paint as if it was a stamp pad, inking the flower with paint.
10. Have them apply the painted side of the flower to the paper. 
11. Help them continue to add flowers to their scroll until the entire branch is filled.
12. Create a gallery of tree branch art.  What would the branch look like during the different seasons of the year?