JR's Lemon Tree of Friendship

 

 

JR's Lemon Tree of Friendship sprouted as the perfect conclusion to her Lemon Tea Party. I wanted the party to have a craft segment after the food and the drinks were consumed. I also wanted this craft to be meaningful, not just pens and stickers on paper that would eventually end up being recycled. I wanted to preserve the art and the memory. I wondered if the girls could produce an art that could then be used as decoration. I slept on the idea, and woke up to the Lemon Tree of Friendship.

 

Originally, the tree was going to be painted on a poster board and nailed to the wall in the spare room. I wanted the display to be "mobile." But, after further research and consideration I abandoned the idea; I could not find the dimensions I was after, and transporting art on card stock every time we moved was not practical.

 

Painting was my second option. We rent our condo, so I hesitated before I went down the painting route. What if our landlord objected? But, what if we did not even ask in advance! Bingo! We had already asked him if we could paint the spare room a different shade, and he had agreed to that, so why not take the chance on more paint on decorations. And, so it was.

 

After looking up a pattern online and enlarging it to the maximum dimension I could, I started my project. I had not painted anything before beyond what we did at school as kids. Art is not one of my talents. So, I was a little nervous when all I had to work with was a sheet of paper lying to my side, a plain wall, and brown tempera paint and a brush. I outlined in pencil. It looked good enough. I took the brush to the wall. And, I was taken in. I could do this. It was fun. And, it was rewarding. To see the finished product was worth the try.

 

And so, at the end of the evening we had our tree. All it needed was its fruit and leaves. Enter the girls. At the party, each girl decorated and labelled her own set of lemon and leaf. Then, JR and Mama taped each pair along with its corresponding name tag to the wall. With that JR got her Lemom Tree of Friendship and a lasting memory of a wonderful party and wonderful friends.

 

When we move, the lemons, leaves and name tags will come with. JR and I will paint a new trunk and branches, put the tree back together, and reminisce about the days gone by.