# Easy Fall Tree Printing > Dip plastic cups in fall-colored tempera paint and stamp rings and solid circles to build a bright treetop and a carpet of fallen leaves. It's simple enough for toddlers and still fun for older kids. - URL: https://www.funlittles.com/fall-art-projects-kids-easy-fall-tree-toddlers/ - Ages: 2–7 yrs · Difficulty: easy · Mess: medium - Time: prep 10 min, activity 20 min - Works for: one-on-one, small group, whole class · one batch serves about 2 kids - Skills: fine-motor, printmaking, colors, shapes, creativity ## Materials (one batch) - Washable kids tempera paint in fall colors (e.g. red, orange, yellow, green) - 8 piece Hard plastic 1-ounce shot glasses - Dixie bath cups (small paper/plastic cups) - 1 piece Paper plates - 1 sheet White paper (household) - Brown marker or crayon (optional) (household) - Liquid watercolors (optional) - Craft paper or newspaper to cover the table (optional) (household) ## Safety - Supervise toddlers closely: paint is for printing, not tasting, so keep painty cups and fingers out of mouths. - Wash hands after painting. ## Before you start - Cover the table and gather cups and paper plates for each station. ## Steps 1. Cover the table and give each child a sheet of paper. 2. Pour a puddle of each fall color onto a paper plate. 3. Set two shot glasses in each color: one upside down and one right side up. 4. Press the rim of an upside-down cup into the paint and stamp rings for the treetop. 5. Use a right-side-up cup to stamp solid circles and fill in the treetop. 6. Try the bigger bath cups for larger circles and overlap all the colors. 7. Draw a trunk and branches under the treetop. 8. Stamp more circles along the bottom of the page for fallen leaves. 9. Add acorns if you like! ## Tips - After a couple of finished trees we found it helpful to have 2 shot glasses per color, one upside down and one right side up. That way the kids could print just the rim in some areas and fill in solid color for the rest. - I had planned on concentric circles filled in with watercolors, but the kids had better plans. Let them use the materials freely. - My 5 year old has always enjoyed exploring just colors and patterns without a design in mind. She used up all the colors and explored, and that's part of the fun. - Even my 7 year old, who wants to learn new techniques with a goal in mind, still enjoyed this simpler art project. ## The original post by TurkeyMom (2016) An easy fall art project using just circles in fall colors. This fall art is so easy that you can easy set this up as a toddler fall art project too. Preschoolers will enjoy making prints to create an even We have done our fair share of [**fall activities for kids,**](https://www.funlittles.com/category/season/fall-season/) fall art projects like this [**fall tree art project**](https://www.funlittles.com/fall-art-activities-kids-fall-tree-art/) and even engaged in some cool fall sensory activities like this [**fall sensory jar**](https://www.funlittles.com/fall-activities-fall-sensory-jars/), [**fall sensory bin**](https://www.funlittles.com/fall-sensory-bin/) or this [**beautiful fall sensory bags.**](https://www.funlittles.com/fall-activities-for-kids-fall-sensory-bags/) We have explored several mediums like liquid watercolors { **[our favorite brand](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0042SR5R2/?tag=blmemo-20)}**, tempera paint, puffy paint. For this year's upcoming fall season we are kicking off with some simple back to basics fall art project for toddlers and preschoolers. **Materials** Primary Supplies **[Washable Kids Tempera Paint](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001ND6LI8/?tag=blmemo-20)** **[Hard Plastic 1-Ounce Shot Glasses](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B008M66WMO/?tag=blmemo-20)** **[Dixie Bath Cups](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0025WEF1Q/?tag=blmemo-20)** **[Paper Plates](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B008R6LO5O/?tag=blmemo-20)** After a couple of completed fall tree art projects we saw that it was helpful to have 2 shot classes per color. One upside down and the other right side up. That way the kids were able to get just the rim of the cup painted for some areas and fill it in with solid color { by using the cup right side up} for the rest. I had initially planned on having the kids use different sized cups and printing concentric circles and then having them fill the circles in with watercolors. But they had better plans. It was great to see them use the materials freely and have conversations about [**printmaking art projects**](https://www.funlittles.com/tag/printing/) they had done. We haven't done printmaking in a long time and neither have we engaged in free form art projects of this nature. Now that the kids especially the 7 year old wants to learn new techniques and explore various mediums with a goal in mind it was great to see them still enjoy simpler art projects. However this bright and colorful fall art project seemed to have attracted both my 7 and my 5 year old {who has always enjoyed exploring just colors and patterns without a design in mind} She went ahead and used up all the colors and explored We finished off the fall tree art with some more prints on the ground to mimic fallen leaves. The older one even wanted to add acorns. Ha! While you are here, check out our [**Fall Tree Puffy Paint Art**](https://www.funlittles.com/fall-art-activities-fall-tree-art/) we have done in the past and click on the image below to see ALL our fall activities. [](https://www.funlittles.com/category/season/fall-season/)