Tag: trees

How to make a tree sculpture

~ Ellie Evermore ~ 7 Comments

Today, I’d like to share a little bit about the process of sculpting a tree because I know some of you might be interested in making one yourself. The process is actually quite simple, although a bit messy, and does require a lot of patience due to the time it takes between layers to dry. But if you’re on board with all of that, then this project might be for you.

Step 1: Gather all the supplies you think you might like to use; more is better as it gives you creative options. Here are the supplies I used:

Specifics: I acquired a couple of used hard-cover books from the library. If you attend library sale days, you can sometimes get a whole bag of books for just a couple of dollars. I bought a foam board from Walmart to stabilize the base of the bottom book so that it would serve as a sturdy platform. I also got some Elmer’s glue and diluted it 1:1 with water. I used paper towels to cover the wire structure of the tree. I used needle-nosed pliers, wire cutters, 16-gauge wire, 26-gauge wire, and chicken wire to make the main structure of the tree. I used scissors to curl the paper to make the grass. I used a plastic mixing tray, a metal mixing container, and an empty Modge Podge container to mix and hold the glue. I used a leaf punch I found on Amazon to make all the leaves. I used a flat paintbrush to apply the leaves to the branches (this was quite tedious). I used a hot glue gun to attach the tree to the bottom book and apply the foam base. I found a bunch of vinyl tablecloths on clearance and bought several so I could use them for future projects. I noticed that at the end of summer, you can usually find tablecloths for a few dollars, whereas if you buy them at the beginning of summer, they can cost upwards of about $15 apiece. I had a silicone craft mat that I used underneath the tree when applying layers of paper towels and paper with glue. I printed a flag picture and then folded it like they do at funerals. I also printed some paper runes and used the leaf punch to make leaves out of them. To finish the project, I purchased a miniature park bench, lantern, and newspaper to add some symbolic final touches, and I used fishing line to hang the lantern.

Step 2: Prepare your work surface. A disposable vinyl tablecloth works great to cover your table, and a silicone craft mat can be helpful, too. Something I’ve recently found that works well are the plastic lids that cover bins/containers. A 24 in. x 18 in. is especially useful. I wish I’d had this for my tree project instead of the vinyl craft mat because the lids are sturdier and easier to clean.

Step 3: Cut some 16-gauge wire, using any jewelry pliers to shape it into a tree-like structure. This finished wire structure is what you will use to wrap the chicken wire around. Once it’s been bent to stand on its own, cut several pieces of chicken wire and use those pieces to wrap around the wire base to form the trunk of the tree, the roots, and the branches. If you cut the chicken wire correctly, some little wire pieces will stick out and can be looped and twisted to secure and close each piece. This whole process can be a bit frustrating because wire isn’t the easiest material to work with. I found having a good pair of needle nose pliers worked the best for me to bend everything in place. I also used some 26-gauge wire to weave through the branches for added support.

Step 4: Mix one part glue to one part water. If you have an empty plastic container with a lid, you can fill it halfway with water, add glue to the top, and shake to mix. I used a lot of glue for this project but still had more than I could use. It was handy to have an empty Modge Podge container to store the remaining diluted glue.

Step 5: Tear some paper towels into strips, dip them into the glue mixture, and cover the entire wire structure of the tree. I first attempted to use tissue paper, which didn’t hold up. I’d recommend newspaper because that’s perfect for paper mâché projects, but if you don’t have any and can’t obtain any, paper towels will work. Once the tree is fully covered, allow it to dry over several days. I found placing the structure in a warm room or near a sunny window helped the process go faster.

Step 6: Tear some strips from the pages of a book, dip them in glue,  and cover the tree for a second time. Then, let it dry completely.

Step 7: Punch out all of the leaves and glue them onto the branches. You can use pages from a book or plain or colored paper from something else. To add symbolism, I used some paper printed with runes, giving my tree a touch of color. Most tree sculptures I’ve seen in the past don’t use any color at all, but I’d recommend doing what seems fitting for you and your project. Be creative and have fun. Always remember there are no rules when it comes to crafting. I found it best to put the tiniest glue dot at the end of each leaf and apply it to the underside of each branch before moving upward toward the top. This way, you ensure an even layer going upwards, and the top leaves don’t get in the way.

Step 8: Cut the foam board and glue it to the book that will be used for the base. I used Elmer’s glue for this part and then weighed the book down with other books on top to ensure it dried completely flat.

Step 9: Cover the miniature park bench in strips of book paper. This process is the same as step 6, only now you cover the bench.

Step 10: Fold the paper flag. I found a tutorial online to ensure I was folding the flag like they do at funerals.

Step 11: Affix the park bench and the tree to the book. I used hot glue for this part but was nervous since hot glue dries so fast and is much less forgiving than Elmer’s glue. But if you’re a risk taker like me, then go for it and say a little prayer beforehand if you’re afraid. And don’t worry too much if some of the glue shows; you’ll add grass around the edges of the roots and the bench, covering up any hot glue that may be showing.

Step 12: Make and apply the grass. I used the same paper from the original book I’d been tearing apart. Rip some strips the size you think you’ll need and curl them with scissors. If you’ve ever curled ribbon for gifts, you can use this same method for curling the paper. Then, use some Elmer’s glue and affix them around the base of the tree and bench where you want them.

Step 13: Hang the lantern. I used a small piece of fishing line and wrapped it around one of the branches to support the lantern.

Step 14: Glue the newspaper and the flag to the bench. I used Elmer’s glue for this part because I feared the hot glue might show through.

Step 15: Let everything dry, turn the lantern on, and sit back and admire all of your hard work.

* I want to apologize for not having pictures for every step of the process. When I originally made my tree, I wasn’t planning on creating a tutorial. However, after making this myself and seeing how little is out there on how to design and make one, I decided to share my creative efforts here. I hope this helps anyone interested in making one for themself. Love you guys… ~Ellie xoxo

Symbolism in Sculpting

~ Ellie Evermore ~ 7 Comments

Today, I’d like to share some of the symbolic details involved in creating my tree sculpture. The sculpture was made as a combined class project for two courses I took at Utah Tech University. For my project, I wanted to do something creative related to a poem I wrote about my grandfather called “The Perfect Color.” I also had to find a way to incorporate the historical aspects of language into my sculpture, as well as the course theme (Living, dying, and living again). With those considerations in mind, I began looking for ideas and decided that a paper mâché book sculpture would be the best way to include everything. I found a video of an artist creating a paper mâché tree, and I fell in love with her idea, but I didn’t think her process would work for what I visualized creating. I decided to use some of the supplies used in her tutorial but took a very different approach to my own project.


Trees are perpetually living, dying, and living again and through every season they endure. When death finally does come, trees are brought back to life through the things we create, whether it be furniture, books, or various other items, and even a paper mâché sculpture is made from the pulp of a tree. In this way, by creating a book sculpture, I intended to not only bring the tree back to life but also the memory of my grandfather. I formed seven branches to represent all the decades of my grandfather’s life, and since seven is also known as the perfect number, it also represents the title of my poem, The Perfect Color.

I also used seventy-one colored runes cut into shapes of leaves to represent the historical aspects of language. With all the runes combined, they symbolize the age of my grandfather’s death and represent all the colors I mentioned in my poem. The cover of the book I used for the sculpture’s foundation is blue and represents my grandfather’s lifelong view since he was in the Navy and lived near the ocean. I felt it was also important to add a folded flag to commemorate his death and a newspaper showing a glimpse of what happened during his lifetime. I affixed a picture of my grandfather’s grave to the underside of the tree, which I believe beautifully symbolizes the new life that is born of our bodies after we die. Specifically, for the language aspect of the project, language can also live, die, and live again as it transforms over time. In this way, a language that may one day die has a better chance of being remembered through this visual representation. In all these ways, I believe my sculpture appropriately captures all the aspects that I felt were important to illustrate in this final project.


Now that I’ve fallen in love with the process of paper sculpting, I’ve decided to continue doing more of these. Fortunately, paper mâché is inexpensive, and although time-consuming, it isn’t that difficult if you have enough patience to wait for the layers to dry. I could even see myself creating more to sell at an art fair. I know they’d be difficult to part with because even this one feels priceless to me, but I could see myself doing commissions for others if someone wanted to pay me enough for my time. Now, I’m just excited to see where my imagination takes me with the next one. I may do one last post on my tree sculpture just so that anyone who’s interested in trying to make one can get a better idea of the physical process of creating one for themselves. I hope you’ve enjoyed learning a little bit about my thought process while creating this sculpture. Please follow along if you’re interested in seeing more of my work in the future. Thanks for reading. Love you guys, ~Ellie xoxo

Why choose a tree?

~ Ellie Evermore ~ 10 Comments

Trees have always been a comfort to me. From the time I was old enough to walk, I think a tree must’ve been the first place I ventured towards on my own. Trees, to me, symbolize shelter, strength, hope, peace, friendship, and love. There were many times when I was growing up that I didn’t have a human friend, so I turned to nature, which was always present no matter where I was. I moved around a lot when I was younger, but nearly every house we moved to had at least one good climbing tree. And back in those days, that was the first thing I’d do. I’d scope out a tree to climb, and it became my haven for the rest of the time we lived there. I loved pretending it was my own private place where nobody could find me, and for the most part, nobody seemed to take any notice of me when I was nestled deep in the branches of my tree. I could hide all day and read up there. Sometimes, my cat would climb up and sit in my lap, and then we’d lay back and watch the clouds drift along or listen to the birds sing their sweet songs. Sometimes, even the soft rustle of the leaves would lull me to sleep. And so began my love for any tree with boughs large enough to hold a small girl.

Now that I’m older, I still have a great fondness for trees, but I live in the middle of a desert where there are hardly any trees at all. And isn’t it funny that I chose such a barren place to live when all my life, I’ve wanted nothing more than to live in a forest full of trees? Thankfully, I only need to travel a short distance to find a few parks with some lovely trees, but it isn’t the same as having one in my very own backyard. And so, I think that’s one reason why I decided to sculpt a tree for my first attempt at paper sculpting. Trees soothe my spirit, and I think they make a home feel more like a home. I think that’s exactly what I needed in this desolate place where I’ve decided to live out the rest of my days. And so, you’ll likely be seeing more trees from me in the future as I progress on this sculpting journey. Tomorrow, I will be back to share more about the inspiration for this first project. Until then, be well, and if you’re lonely, go out and hug a tree for me since there aren’t too many around here.

Love you guys… ~Ellie xoxo

Let’s begin…

~ Ellie Evermore ~ 15 Comments

Hello… Well, this is me, Ellie Evermore (Aka ~M). If you’ve met me before, you probably know I am an all-around creative person. You’ve likely seen my poems, short stories, original quotes, drawings, paintings, etc… But did you know that I sculpt, too? I’m sure you never knew because this is something relatively new for me. And now, I’ve decided it’s time to dedicate part of my life to this newfound love and unexpected passion. I’ve also decided to use my nickname here instead of my rather common name (Michelle Cook). People always have difficulty locating my work under my given name, so I figure now’s the time to solve that problem once and for all. I’m excited that you’re here and hope that you’ll find wonderful inspiration whenever you visit. Feel free to contact me on Instagram, @Ellie_Evermore, and follow me for updates as I traverse this exciting new journey. This first post is just a teaser of what’s to come, and I plan to share more about my tree sculpture this week. So stay tuned and follow along for more content, including tutorials on how you can make your own paper sculptures at home. Stay inspired! ~Ellie xoxo