Fall is right around the corner here in the United States, and I can’t wait for everything pumpkin to invade my life. Yes, I am one of “those people”, and I’m not afraid to admit that I am obsessed with Fall! I have passed this love along to my daughter, so today we started making fall crafts a month early.
This craft was extremely easy, and cheap! My daughter Little C is only 2.5, and I would rate this as a very easy craft for her to do, with a little help of course. She is definitely not that skilled with scissors. If you’d like to create these beautiful fall leaves, here is a quick tutorial for you.
Materials
- Coffee filters
- Scissors
- Leaf templates
- Washable markers
- A spray bottle full of water
- A pen to trace with
- A stapler
- Wax paper, parchment paper, or a vinyl table cloth
Directions
- Gather your materials from the list above.
- Place a coffee filter on top of your leaf template, and trace your leaf using a pen. I got the templates we used from firstpalette.com.
- Gather a small stack of coffee filters, place the coffee filter with the leaf on it on top of the stack, and staple around your leaf. I like to use staples so the coffee filters don’t slide around while I cut them. I always do this when cutting out more than one of the same object. I am not a huge fan of cutting, so I like to get it done as quickly as possible!
- Cut your leaves out.
- Repeat the previous steps with as many different types of leaves as you’d like. Trace, staple, cut, repeat! I ended up with 28 leaves.
- Let your child color the leaves with fall colored washable markers. We used red, green, yellow, and brown. I placed a piece of wax paper on top of a cookie sheet pan when I noticed that the color was going straight through the coffee filter, and onto our table. I know it’s washable, but my daughter kept making me wipe away the mess after each leaf she colored. I was not about to wipe the table twenty eight times!
- When you are done coloring all your leaves, place them on a waterproof surface like a table cloth, or a long strip of wax paper, and thoroughly soak them with your spray bottle of water. My daughter hasn’t mastered the art of using a spray bottle, but I am sure this will be your child’s favorite part! I carefully picked the leaves up after spraying them, and fliped them over, so that the water had the opportunity to spread the colors all over the leaves.
- Once your leaves dry, you can hang them up in the window, or place them on your mantel, window seal, or as a center piece on your table. My daughter added acorns to the mix, and played with acorns, and leaves for awhile until she asked me to hang them up in her art window.
Tip– You could also have your child color the coffee filters before you cut them out, this would make them easier to color. My daughter enjoyed the novelty of coloring leaves, but I had to help her hold a few of them flat.
How gorgeous do these leaves look hanging up in our dining room window? I love opening the blinds every morning and seeing the promise of what’s to come this Fall. If you are ready to add some Fall colors to your house, go grab your coffee filters and markers, and have fun! If you are patient enough to wait another month, you could always pin this idea for later. As always, happy crafting!