Seuss DIY: Big Truffula Trees!

It’s COMING! Read Across America is next week, so I thought I’d share a very easy DIY that I put together to decorate our hallways!

• Pool noodles (I cut them down to make trunks of different lengths)
• Masking tape (I used black and blue)
• tissue paper sheets (the larger, the better)
• floral wire
• floral wire cutters
• scissors

Looking for a fun family literacy night event to celebrate Read Across America with your families? Check out Read Across Your School, a Family Literacy Night resource that helps you plan your event from start to finish!

First, I took the masking tape and wrapped it around the pool noodles at a regular interval to make the little stripes you see on the truffula tree trunks.

Then, I followed the directions from this post from Martha Stewart to make the poofs on top of the truffula trees. It was surprisingly easy! For the first tree I made, I used a rounded edge, which made the petals on the poof look round on the ends, but for the others, I cut it into a pointy triangle, so it could look a bit more truffula-ish.

One of the steps in making the poofs is to wrap the floral wire around the middle of a stack of tissue paper. I left the ends of the wire very long, so I could use it to punch through the pool noodle and attach the poof to the top. I also only fluffed out the petals into one side, making a  180 degree flower, rather than a 360 degree flower, so I could lay the flowers flat against the wall.

I made six truffula trees of different colors in about an hour (maybe an hour and a half). Easy peasy!

We used our truffula trees to decorate the doorway outside the library. We covered the wall with a bright blue background, and layered on grass, little Seuss-like hills, and clouds to make a cute truffula scene.

What do you do to decorate for Read Across America? I know a lot of teachers decorate their doors. I’d love to see your photos!