Our school is having a luau-themed auction this year. I bought a roll of cardboard from Uline to make tiki statutes but since I had so much leftover, I decided to try making a palm tree.
I cut leaves from crepe paper I had left over from last year's auction. You can use tissue or construction paper. The crepe paper lets you stretch it a little and it gives a nice edge. I also cut strips of cardboard to be the spines of the leaves and rectangles of cardboard for the trunk.
Hot glue the rectangles into tubes. Slightly stagger the size so the tubes are able to nestle into each other.
Glue the leaves to the strips. You can slightly ruffle the edges of the leaves at this point.
Apply hot glue and insert the leaves into what will be the top most tube. Make sure the spine faces out so when you fold the leaves over, they'll be underneath.
Start nestling the tubes in each other and glue them into place. If you tilt a few of the tubes closer to the top, it'll give you the bend you see in palm trees.