Penny family tree art

I am kind of obsessed with family tree art lately and I was looking for something simple I could do with my boys for my best friends and their grandparents. This was so simple and I think they turned out great! The hardest part was searching through their piggy banks for the right years. We couldn't find some of the oldest pennies, so I purchased them on eBay for around $1 shipped each.

We started by cleaning the pennies. We soaked them in around a cup of vinegar with a spoonful or so of salt added. Within a few minutes of swishing them around I was amazed at how clean they looked. I did read that this decreases the value of the coins, so don't use this method on anything you care a lot about.

 

I washed the pennies off in warm water and laid them out to dry.

 

 

I bought cheap frames at the Dollar Tree and scrapbook paper squares for the background. I used my hot glue gun to glue the pennies to the paper and then just laid them in the frame. This is the one I made for my best friend with her and her husbands' years at the top and their three boys below. I added the little heart sticker just for fun.

 

I love how easy these were and how special they were to the people who received them. I think they turned out great. Now to find time to make one for me! :)