Play Trains!

  • Home
  • About
  • Contact
  • Disclosure
    • Privacy Policy
    • Copyright
  • Ultimate Wooden Train Guide
  • Gift Guides
  • Parents & Teachers
    • Parenting Little Engineers
    • Train Tips & Tricks
  • Play
    • Wooden Train Play
    • Trackmaster and Take’n’Play
    • Pretend Play
    • Sensory Play
      • Water Play
      • Light Play
    • Outdoor Activities
    • Fine Motor Activities
  • Learn
    • Literacy Activities with Trains
    • Science Activities with Trains
    • Math Activities with Trains
    • Engineering Activities with Trains
    • Music Activities with Trains
    • Social, Emotional, and Practical Skills
    • Cooking with Kids
  • Create
    • DIY Projects
      • Train Play Sets
      • Train Set Accessories
      • Train Set Scenery
      • DIY Wooden Train Sets
      • DIY Train Tables
      • Pipe Cleaner Trees
      • DIY Costumes and Clothes
    • Train Crafts for Kids
    • Train Art Activities
    • Kid-made Gifts
    • Upcycled Train Projects
  • by Age
    • Toddlers
    • Preschoolers
    • School-age Kids
  • by Stage
    • New to Trains
    • Train Obsessed
    • Making Trains Exciting Again
  • Through the Year
    • Seasons
      • Spring
      • Summer
      • Fall
      • Winter
    • Holidays
      • Valentine’s Day
      • St. Patrick’s Day
      • Easter
      • Fourth of July
      • Halloween
      • Christmas
    • Special Days
      • Birthdays
      • Day Out With Thomas
      • Train Shows and Exhibitions
  • Books

Pipe Cleaner Palm Tree Craft

July 10, 2014 By Jessica Petersen 1 Comment



Every time I think I’m done creating new pipe cleaner trees for our train layouts, I think of another type of tree that seems impossible to make. And so I have to make it, of course! I thought it would be difficult to get these pipe cleaner palm trees to stand up, but they stand up on their own, no problem. You can leave the palm fronds and coconuts loose for kids to attach themselves as interactive scenery in a summer small world or tropical train layout. Or you can make them as a cute palm tree craft by hot gluing the felt fronds and the pom pom coconuts on.

DIY pipe cleaner palm trees -- can be an interactive summer small world element or simply a cute craft!

This post contains links to Amazon.com. If you click on one, we will receive a small commission — at no additional cost to you — on anything you buy at Amazon for a certain length of time afterwards. Read our disclosure policy for more details.

 

Seasonal Pipe Cleaner and Pom Pom Trees

Cherry Blossom Spring Pom Pom Tree
Pipe Cleaner Pine Trees
Summer Pom Pom Tree
Pipe Cleaner and Pom Pom Palm Tree
Apple Harvest Pom Pom Tree
Fall Pom Pom Tree
Spooky Pipe Cleaner Trees
Halloween Carnival Colors Pom Pom Trees
Pipe Cleaner Christmas Trees
Light-up Pipe Cleaner Christmas Trees
Snow and Ice Winter Pom Pom Trees

 

Materials:

  • 12 brown pipe cleaners (chenille stems) I found some brown pipe cleaners that were more of a medium warm brown than the super dark brown pipe cleaners I see more often, but either color works.
  • 2 beige pipe cleaners
  • Green craft felt in two colors
  • Brown craft pom poms, or an extra small pom pom maker (3/4″) and brown yarn to make your own
  • Sticky-backed velcro dots, hot glue and small pieces of velcro, or just hot glue, depending on how you want to attach your coconuts

Directions

1. Separate the brown pipe cleaners into two piles of six. Gently bend them in half, then round out the shape of that bend as shown in the photo below. (They look a bit like giant, fuzzy bobby pins, don’t they?)

DIY pipe cleaner palm trees -- can be an interactive summer small world element or simply a cute craft!

2. Nest one of the shaped sets of six pipe cleaners inside the other, turned 90 degrees to begin to form a round trunk and base for the tree.

DIY pipe cleaner palm trees -- can be an interactive summer small world element or simply a cute craft!

3. Twist the trunk tightly up to the top.

DIY pipe cleaner palm trees -- can be an interactive summer small world element or simply a cute craft!

4. Stand the trunk up on a hard, flat surface. While pressing down, shape the bottom of the trunk so that it both stands on its own and looks vaguely like the bottom of a tree.

DIY pipe cleaner palm trees -- can be an interactive summer small world element or simply a cute craft!

5. Stick the beige pipe cleaners through opposite sides of the base of the tree. Twist the ends together underneath, and then bend them so they won’t interfere with the tree standing up.

DIY pipe cleaner palm trees -- can be an interactive summer small world element or simply a cute craft!

6. Wrap the beige pipe cleaners around the trunk of the tree, crossing over each other in the front and on the back.

DIY pipe cleaner palm trees -- can be an interactive summer small world element or simply a cute craft!

7. Fold out the ends of the brown pipe cleaners at the top of the tree. Twist them together into six supports for the leaves and coconuts.

DIY pipe cleaner palm trees -- can be an interactive summer small world element or simply a cute craft!

8. Optional: stick the velcro sticky-backed dots (the rough “hook” ones, not the softer “loop” dots, so that the pom poms will stick to them) on the undersides of those branch-like supports. Alternately, you could glue the pom poms on, or just forget about the coconuts altogether.

DIY pipe cleaner palm trees -- can be an interactive summer small world element or simply a cute craft!

9. Cut leaves out of the green craft felt. I made the ones in the lighter green smaller.

DIY pipe cleaner palm trees -- can be an interactive summer small world element or simply a cute craft!

10. Add the palm fronds to the top of the tree. If you want this to be an interactive piece, just arrange them crossing over each other and press them down into the top of the tree trunk. If you’re making this as a decoration, use some hot glue to stick them down.

DIY pipe cleaner palm trees -- can be an interactive summer small world element or simply a cute craft!

The picture above is with the store-bought pom poms, and the one below is with the pom poms I made by hand. I think the handmade ones look better, or at least stand out more, but the store-bought ones are slightly easier to get to stick onto the tree.

In general the pom poms are a little tricky to stick on. And they tend to fall off the tree eventually, but so do real coconuts. And we want to be able to use the coconuts as freight. But of all of my pipe cleaner trees that can be interactive, this is definitely the most challenging, so you might consider the glue on this one if you think this would be too frustrating for your child.

DIY pipe cleaner palm trees -- can be an interactive summer small world element or simply a cute craft!

Just add sand — we’re using kinetic sand indoors — and you’re at the beach! Taking this photo made me really excited about our summer wooden train layout we’re planning. Hopefully we’ll build it over the weekend and be able to show it to you next week!

In the meantime, here’s another craft I made for the summer train layout: DIY mini beach balls!

These DIY mini beach balls are so much fun for tropical wooden train layouts and summertime small worlds!

DIY Mini Beach Balls
 

Filed Under: Pipe Cleaner Trees, School-age Kids, Summer, Train Set Scenery Tagged With: summer, train set scenery, trees

« Fourth of July Wooden Train Play
Back to School: Train Backpacks and Lunch Boxes »

Comments

  1. Ann ~ Little Worlds says

    June 4, 2015 at 9:37 pm

    These are quite amazing! I’m a huge small world fan and always looking for accessories. Never thought of using pipe cleaners!!

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Jessica Petersen, author of Old Tracks, New Tricks
Hi, I'm Jessica! We're so happy you've climbed aboard the Play Trains! express. Next stop: a trainload of fun and learning for your little engineer!

Our Book!

The Play Trains! Guide to Wooden Train Sets: expert advice on the best wooden train set to buy for your little engineer.

The Play Trains! Guide to the Best Wooden Train Sets 2021

The Play Trains! Ultimate Wooden Train Guide -- Wooden Train Track: expert advice and product recommendations

Wooden Train Tracks — The Play Trains! Ultimate Wooden Train Guide

The Play Trains Ultimate Wooden Train Guide: The Best Wooden Train Tables for Toddlers and Preschoolers

Best Train Tables — The Ultimate Wooden Train Guide

Copyright

Copyright © 2012 - 2023 Jessica Petersen, All Rights Reserved. All trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Disclosure

Some product links on this site are affiliate links for products we think are worth checking out. The owner of this website is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program and the Lego Brand Retail Affiliate Program. Read our the rest of our disclosure policy here.
Old Tracks, New Tricks by Jessica Petersen: a wooden train picture book that inspires creative play!

Old Tracks, New Tricks by Jessica Petersen

A simple trick to give Lego minifigs a way to ride wooden trains -- from Play Trains!

Lego Minifigures and Wooden Trains: Tips and Tricks

Pencil Box Wooden Train Set: a portable, travel-friendly way to bring wooden trains on adventures from Play Trains!

Pencil Box Portable Train Set

Our Train Videos on YouTube

About Me

Hi, I'm Jessica! While playing trains for the last several years, my Little Engineer and I have had a lot of fun and learned so much together. I'm excited to share our discoveries with other people who have kids who love trains in their lives.

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Our Book!

Recent Posts

  • Best Train Sets for Toddlers
  • The Play Trains! Guide to the Best Wooden Train Sets 2021
  • The Best Battery-Powered Wooden Trains
  • Wooden Track Veggie Stack: a Wooden Train Activity
  • 55+ Creative Train Gift Ideas for Kids that Will Make You a Hero

Copyright © 2012 - 2018 by Jessica Petersen