A couple of weeks ago I received an email in my inbox with a link to an article about a guy who takes fallen leaves and turns them into amazing pieces of art. I’m not the biggest art fan, but this got my attention and I was really impressed.
Here are a few of my favourites, these are truly amazing…
If like me and you’re thinking “I’d love to have a go at that” but again, like me, you’ve not been blessed with much artistic skill, here a few easy crafts that you can do with fallen leaves.
Creative Cut Outs and Stamps
Using a shaped punch, available from most good hobby and craft stores, this easy and simple craft idea is a great way of keeping the kids entertained and clearing your garden of fallen leaves.
Once you’ve cut your shapes you can simply glue them to paper or card for a home made bookmark, greeting card. You can even make confetti for an autumn wedding.
Leaf Printing
I’m sure we all remember the days of painting cut potatoes and stamping them on paper to make colourful circles. This slightly different approach to a well loved children’s favourite is great way of creating autumnal decorations and having fun with paints… and keeping your patotoes edible.
Simply paint your leaf in the colour of your choice, press down for 10-15 seconds and lift off to reveal your colourful leaf print.
Autumn Lanterns
I think you’ll agree, these look great! A warming addition to any home, you’ll have no problem making and placing these beautiful lanterns in your house.
To create your very own Autumn Lanterns all you need is:
- a glass jar (a perfect excuse to put extra jam on your sandwiches!)
- a tealight
- some glue
- and of course, some leaves – the more golden the better.
Glue your leaves to the outside of the glass jar, allow to dry, and place the candle within the jar and let the golden-brown glow set the atmosphere in your home.
Hanging Window Decorations
One of the great things about using leaves for craft activities is that they come in many sizes, shapes and colours, giving you much variation of how you can use them. A hanging window decoration is an easy and cheap activity that requires only some leaves and string.
Gently create a hole centrally at the base of the leaf, this can be done with a small hole-punch or a sharp pencil, and thread the string through. Once the string has been thread through the hole, loop it around the bottom the leaf (as gently as you can) and back through the hole – this will hold the leaf in place.
Once you have attached all of the leaves you can hang your decoration and let the sun light shine through the window and light up the colours of the leaves.
3D Pictures
This is a super simple and really effective way of bringing pictures to life without being a master artist. This is an easy way to keep your children entertained on a rainy day and teach them about many different animals.
Draw your animal on paper and cut out the shape of the animal leaving enough space on the paper for the ‘body’. Glue the leaves into place and allow the glue to dry. You can proudly place your 3D pictures on your fridge, your children’s bedrooms or wherever!
Leaf Rubbing
This is an absolutely timeless classic, much like watching Home Alone at Christmas, leaf rubbing or leaf tracing will always be a favourite.
Place a leaf under some thin paper and lightly trace over the top. Simple.
So there you have it, go grab some leaves and get creative! Enjoy!
