If you enjoyed the book (and later, the movie), The Lorax,” by Dr. Seuss, you’ll easily recognize this as one of the so-called Truffula trees that were so precious and later nearly extinct. Make yourself an entire forest of these cartoon marabou trees with just a few supplies and a healthy dose of imagination!

Difficulty level: Easy
Time required: 30 minutes
Age range: 10+ (younger kids will need help with hot glue gun)

Things you’ll need:
Marabou feather boa
Small flower pot
Bean bag filler or Perler beads
Unfinished wood disc
Moss sheet
Hot glue gun and hot glue sticks

Things to do:
1. Warm up your hot glue gun and glue the disc to the bottom of the pot to cover the hole.

2. Fill the pot to within 1/2″ of the top edge with the bean bag filler or perler beads (I’ve used perler beads here.)

3. Place the stra in the pot to get a feel of how tall it will be, and trim if desired.

4. Form a piece of the sheet moss to the size of the pot and make a hole in the center for the straw. Remove it for now, but you’ll add it back later.

5. Trim off the string part of the marabou and hot glue one end of the marabou to the end of the straw.

6. Wind it around in a circle above the straw, forming it sort of like a flat lollipop. Glue in place but don’t cut it yet.

7. Loop the marabou around again. Trim and glue to the straw. You’ll need to add a bit of hot glue to the end of the marabou to keep it from shedding. Now slide the straw into the ring of sheet moss you formed earlier, and put everything into the pot. You’ve got a cartoon marabou, Lorax-inspired Truffula tree that’s perfect for a party favor or for decor in a child’s room!