There are a lot of hints and especially scents to let us know that Fall is in the air but nothing says Fall like the changing of the leaves. From bright yellow to vibrant red with a dash of purple, it can all create quite the view. So wether you enjoy all things pumpkin spice or live for some fresh cider doughnuts we can all agree that there’s nothing like the splendor of the brightly colored trees, gently rattling in the breeze, as a dark stormy sky approaches.
With all of that being said, we think it would only be fair to enjoy some crafts with your kids, specially dedicated towards celebrating the Fall leaves and their magnificent display!
Leaf Handprints
By House of Burke
This first craft couldn’t be any easier or more fun! Cover the palm of the hand with Fall color paints such as yellow, brown, orange, red, or purple and press down firmly on a piece of paper. To create the veins of the leaf, fill in the lines with markers or pen to create your leaf handprints!
Paper Leaf Mosaic
By Kate
Paper mosaics are great crafts for kids who love color and putting random shapes together. You can use leaves found in the backyard as part of a fun scavenger hunt and use them as your outline. Cut out the paper leaves from construction paper and then use glue to stick down your small colorful pieces of paper to create your beautiful leaf mosaic!
Leaf Silhouette Art
By Kim
Create an outline of a leaf on a piece of paper and decorate your leaf art using any art supplies from your craft closet. Older kids can use washi tape, yarn or glitter paper, while younger ones can create a painted background! For example, if you have toddlers you can adapt this by putting the paper and paint inside a ziploc bag and have them press the paint around in the bag. You can also have them get their hands dirty and do some finger painting too!
Fall Leaf Suncatcher
By Kate Williams
Use red, orange and yellow cellophane to bring out the colors of the season in a craft that looks reminiscent of a stained-glass window. The first thing to do is to cut out some leaf shapes from colored card. Keep it as simple as possible and allow about a 1-2cm border round the edges. If you’d rather use a template for this, there are plenty of free options to choose from and print! Contact paper can be tricky to work with so to keep it in place we start by washi taping two corners to the floor or table and then removing the covering paper and sticking the other corners down. Place your leaf shapes carefully down on the contact paper and then let your kids fill the insides of the shape with the colored cellophane. It doesn’t matter if the cellophane goes outside of the shapes (making this a great activity for toddlers too) and likewise it’s fine if the colors get piled on top of each other. Once you are finished, seal them by placing another bit of contact paper on top and then cut your autumn leaf suncatchers out. Using a needle and thread carefully make a hole in the top of the leaf and then tie a knot so that you can hang them up!
Salt Dough Leaf Impresision
By Anna Ranson
Go one step beyond leaf rubbing with these salt-dough leaf impressions. Plus, it’ll give kids the inspiration they need to go with you on that nature walk. Make some salt dough, knead it until it is smooth and then roll it out until it is about 1cm thick. Let your kids choose their favourite leaves and gently push them one at a time into the dough. Put them onto a pizza pan (any baking tray will do, either directly or using baking parchment) and place them in the oven for 2-3 hours at around 240 degrees F. The finished leaves will look lovely as they are, but you can add another step to the art process by adding some color to represent the leaves using food coloring or colored pencils!
