Leaves are wonderful! Collect nice
whole leaves and press them between
two clean sheets of paper in a large
book like a phone book or dictionary.
After 2-4 weeks they will be dried and
flat. Here are some things you can do
with them:
Buy white posterboard and cut several
bookmark shape rectangles out with
scissors. I usually cut them about 2 inches
by 8 inches. You will need smaller leaves
for this project. Ivy leaves work will
or thin long tree leaves. Place the leaves
on the bookmark with a touch of glue.
Allow to dry for a few minutes. You may
decorate with marker too, or simply write the
person's name on the bookmark at
the bottom or top, or inbetween the
leaves. You can also use dried flowers
for this.
Cut a section of clear contact paper that
is twice as big as your bookmark, plus some
extra. So, mine would be about 5 inches by
17 inches. Lay your bookmark upside down
very carefully on one edge of the contact
paper so you can fold over the rest of it on
the back of the bookmark. Carefully smooth
down the contact paper so there are no
bubbles then trim the contact paper to the
edge of the bookmark. You then may put a
hole in the top with a paper punch and tie
a ribbon through the hole. This makes a
wonderful gift for friends or teachers!
More Leaf Crafts
Leaves are wonderful to use for tracing!
You can tape leaves to a pumpkin and trace
the shape to the pumpkin with a pen or
marker. Then, cut out the leaf shapes. Place
as many as you can on the pumpkin, and
you will have an unusual neat lantern to
light up at night!
A leaf mobile is a wonderful thing for the
fall season! Trace outlines of five leaves
onto white foam sheets; they should all be close
to the same size. Foam sheets are bought
like poster board and can be found in craft
supply stores. Cut out the shapes, and
punch a hole in each cutout. You can
now sponge paint your leaves! Use yellow,
orange and red paint. Dab your sponge
lightly into the paint and then onto your
leave shape and press the sponge all over
both sides. While these are drying you can
make the mobile. Glue two sticks together
so they are crossed at the center. You can
use twigs, or craft sticks. They should be
about 5-6 inches long. Tie raffia ribbon or
twine to each leaf through your hole and
then knot the other end onto end of each
stick and the fifth one in the center. Balance
the mobile by adjusting the length of each
leaf if it hangs crooked. Tie a final ribbon
or piece of twine to hang the mobile!
You can also make leaf magnets the same
way as above by gluing a small magnet
on the back of each leaf instead of making
the mobile. You can write each family
member's name in the middle of the
leaf after sponge painting.
Finger Paint Projects
Paint Recipe:
1/3 cup of cornstarch
3 tablespoons of sugar
2 cups of cold water
food coloring
Mix cornstarch, sugar and water in a
1 quart saucepan. Cook, and stir over
medium heat about 5 minutes or until
thickened; remove from heat. Divide
into cups or containers. Tint each
cup of mixture with a different food
coloring. Stir several times until cool.
Store in airtight container. ( The paint
works best the same day it is made)
Project Ideas: Look out your window and observe the colors you see. Tint
your paint these colors and paint a picture of your own backyard! You can do
this for each season, and keep the together to make a journal of your
backyard throughout the year. You can also leave room on the paper for notes
or poetry you may want to add.
A Window Ornament
We have found many small pine cones, chestnuts,
walnuts, tree seeds and outside this year. We seem
to just keep collecting them! Here is a neat craft for
the whole family using these nature finds.
You will need:
A larger Styrofoam ball
Raffia, twine or ribbon
small pinecones
gumball (spiky pods)
nuts of any kind
acorns
seedpods
hot glue gun
Use a low temp glue gun and glue a
doubled section of ribbon, twine or
raffia to the top of your ball for hanging.
Now simply hot glue your nature finds
very close together until the entire ball is
covered. You could also spray with
gold paint or leave natural. Hang in
a window for a natural decoration!
