How to Make a Faux Bonsai Fruit Tree

My daughter suddenly decided she wants everything LEMON. So when I happened to see some small, loose decorative lemons at a thrift store, I decided to get them first, THEN decide on what to do with them. And here's what I got!

And of course, you can use any variation of fruits, leaves, and planting pot you like, but I'll just go with Lemon here.

**Some pictures will look different from my final results because they are made specifically to demonstrate the step, since I did not decide to make this Instructable until after I had finished the project.

branches or even single fruits

stems of leaves

wooden dowel (size and length appropriate for your tree)

florist wire

florist tape in dark green

hot glue gun

acrylic paint (at least greens and brownsh)

planting pot

gravel (enough to fit the pot)

*might need wire cutter

(*not all items are shown here)

Poke a hole in the stem end of the lemon and use hot glue to attach the stem of florist wire.

Put a small glob of extra glue at that spot to cover the hole. This will also make sure the stem stays glued.

Bend the stem so that it looks more natural.

If your stem of leaves came attached to a central stem, clip them apart into smaller stems.

(This is where you might need the wire cutters)

Use the wooden dowel and plan out how and where you want all the leaves and fruit to be attached.

Using florist tape, wrap it twice around the dowel, or the "trunk", at where the bottom branch should start. This will help anchor it.

Then angle the tape up and keep wrapping, adding a stem of leaves or stem of fruit as you work up to the top.

Tape the last stem against the tip of the dowel to camouflage it. (so you don't see the blunt end of the dowel)

This is the most crucial step, but don't worry! The florist tape is very forgiving and stick mostly to itself. So if you find the tree not to your liking, you can undo the tape and adjust as needed.

Now use your hot glue gun to coat the trunk, making sure to add random grooves and bumps, so that it doesn't look like a wooden dowel.

Add a bit of extra glue where the florist tape is holding onto stems to camouflage it better, and make it look more natural. Also to prevent the stems from sloshing around.

Exactly what it says on the tin! Paint up the trunk with various brown and greens. I didn't spend a whole lot of time on painting up the texture here, but if you would like to know more, check out my Mini Bonsai Instructable for details.

Paint nubbin at the end of the lemon, and the individual stems if you think it needs it.

https://www.instructables.com/Miniature-Faux/Bonsai/

Now just add gravel to your planter, and insert the trunk, and that's it, folks!

So now you have a cute bonsai tree to brighten up your space. And despite the terrible lighting, my tree (in the first pic) is on par with a department store one. For a fraction of the price, specially since I had most of those items on hand.

You can also make several bundles of this tree and use the same technique to make a full sized tree! For NOT $129.99!

Happy crafting! And please post if you make something using this tutorial! I'd love to see where your imagination takes you!

Oh and check out my Instagram. Let me know if there's something you would like me to make an Instructable for.

https://www.instagram.com/beamercraft/