With weddings come FAMILY! And since we were part of Hallmark’s Home and Family, those two things seem to go together. So we wanted to prepare our home for our family…and we did just that!
We had a LOT of family come to stay with us for our wedding. In fact, we still have a few of the Aussies here! For most of the family, they were meeting each other for the very first time, so to help everyone get to know each other we decided to create a family tree on our living room wall!
One of my favorite segments that I’ve done on Home and Family was a “Family Tree” over two years ago. It is still one of the most requested video’s I get asked to share. So without further ado….here is the segment:
The family tree is such a great project you can do at home and you can involve the kids, too. It’s a great way for them to learn about the history of your family and how everyone fits together – so with that in mind and our families ready to combine, we got to work.
My handy tip … draw up a draft on a sheet of paper before you start on the wall. Figure our where you would like each family member to be placed. If you aren’t the best drawer, search online! There are many cool and different tree templates that you can download and use for free, so just find one you like! If you lack all creativity, you can really cheat and pick yourself up a decal that goes straight up onto the wall. Honestly though, this way more fun and a great activity for the family to do together.
For the pictures inside the frames, I have a good quality printer at home that I use. If you do not have a great printer at home, there are many stores out there that do a one-hour printing service (Walgreens, Walmart, Costco, etc.). These services are fabulous…you can even upload the pictures from your home computer and pick them up an hour later at a store near you!
For the frames, I picked some up at Michaels, Joann’s, and Aaron Brothers…I just made sure that I got them on sale and used online coupons. For a tip when choosing frames, just make sure the style and color fit with the rest of the decor in your home.
How to Create your Own Family Tree
- Start with a blank wall and trace in pencil your tree outline. If your working with the kids on this project, it’s a good idea to tape off the base of the tree so that they can paint freely, and they won’t paint outside the lines.
- Take a paint brush and black paint (or whatever color you would like your tree to be) and paint over your pencil lines.
- Fill in the lines to create thickness and texture to your tree branches.
- If you aren’t great at free hand – thats ok! You can create templates for the leaves of your tree using sheets of paper or even kitchen sponges. Cut out your desired leaf shape and then trace around and fill in.
- Once your tree has completely dried, it’s time to start hanging your family photos. So grab a hammer and nails and get hanging! A very handy tip here would be to write out your family history and blood lines before you start hanging! Make a make-shift family tree with names so you don’t have to hang and rehang to put family members in the correct spot. (This was my “oops” while constructing my tree!)
- Stand back and enjoy your handy work. Everyday you can now be surrounded by your loved ones – it’s also a great conversation starter when you have guests come to stay.
For me personally, it gave me great pleasure for everyone to look at the tree, find their own picture, and then start chatting about the family. I heard many “Oh’s” and “Ah’s” as people found out how everyone was related. Those “Oh’s” and “Ah’s” gave me LOTS of smiles.
So I send you to some smiles, some “Oh’s” and “Ah’s”, and happiness as you have a keepsake that can keep growing branches in the future as your family expands.
Happy Tree Making!
XOXO,
Paige
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