There are so many leaves everywhere! It would be a shame not to use it for something creative, wouldn't it? Whether whole or processed into confetti and combined with dried rose petals, you can make great crafts with them, which can then even serve as colorful autumn decorations. For crafting with autumn leaves, we also offer templates to make it easier for you and your children.
Make pumpkins with autumn leaves during the walk
One option is to first collect the leaves and then make crafts. But you can actually do both at the same time - with a little preparation, of course. First prepare the cardboard pumpkin and dress warmly, then go for a walkMaking pumpkinswith autumn leaves.
- cardboard
- Template for a pumpkin (or free hand drawn)
- Wool or packing twine
- Hole punch/puncher
- optional felt-tip or acrylic pens
- leaves
- Scissors
How to make the pumpkin with leaves:
- Choose a motif from the template and print it out.
- Cut out the pumpkin you want and trace it onto cardboard.
You can also freehand draw a pumpkin on the cardboard if you don't have a printer. - Cut out the pumpkin and decorate the edges with colors if desired.
- Cut the edges a little in several places. These incisions are used to hold the threads later so that they do not slip.
- Now wrap the wool around the cardboard pumpkin in a criss-cross pattern and tie it somewhere at the back.
- Punch holes in the pumpkin in two places and tie a piece of wool string there to hang it around the child's neck. The string should therefore be long enough (the cardboard pumpkin ideally hangs at stomach height at the end).
- Now it's time to go outside. Find a place with lots of colorful leaves, which the children collect and hang directly under the string to color the pumpkin using natural materials.
Two pumpkin templates can be found inthis PDF file.
Make hedgehogs with leaves
The principle of this variant is the same, only this time you don't necessarily have to cut into the cardboard because the hedgehog has enough corners and edges that can keep the cord from slipping. You can also collect the leaves in advance or continue with the craft project while taking a walk. You can also highlight the edge as you like if you want.
If you want, you canpress the collected leavesand dry before designing your hedgehog (or pumpkin). This means you could later use the motif as a decoration for longer, as pressing prevents the edges of the leaves from curling as they dry out naturally.
Templates for two hedgehogsYou can find it here.
Garland of colorful mushrooms
It's not just autumn leaves that are perfect for colorful crafts. You can tooother natural materialsthat autumn offers. There are numerous flowers, including dried flowers, that you can use. Rose petals are also a great idea if you want to add some romantic colors like pink or pink to the whole thing.
Our tip for making a beautiful garland: Dry all the selected materials and then crumble them roughly to create colorful confetti made from natural materials. Alternatively, you can use a hole punch if you want to invest the time and want circular confetti.
- Stencil for semicircles (you can also draw these yourself with a ruler and compass)
- ice styles
- colorful leaves
- flowers
- Glue
- Scissors
- Hole punch or circle punch
- cord
- tape
This is how the garland is made:
- Dry any leaves and petals you plan to use. Pressing is unnecessary as you will be crushing them anyway.
- Roughly crumble them in a bowl.
- Make them mushrooms. To do this, print out the template and select the desired mushroom size.
- Cut out the motif for the stencil and transfer the semicircle to cardboard.
- Cut out the mushroom cap.
- Stick the several popsicle sticks together with adhesive tape and then onto the semicircle. How many you need depends on the size of mushroom you chose. If necessary, you can also shorten them slightly.
- Spread glue on the cardboard.
- Sprinkle the confetti on top and press it down lightly.
- Allow the glue to dry and then shake off the excess leaves.
- Place a long piece of yarn in front of you and glue the mushrooms onto it at equal intervals.
- Hang your fall garlandonce the glue is dry.
The template for the mushroom capscan be found here.
Tree made from a handprint with a heart-shaped crown
This picture is a great oneBirthday gift idea, Mother's Day or simply for no reason. Although the crown is designed in the shape of a heart, you can of course also use a simple circle shape if you don't want it to be quite as romantic. Instead of a handprint, you can also use the tree trunk template from the PDF file below.
- white sheet of paper (you can also use the template with the heart directly)
- cardboard
- crumbled leaves and flowers
- Scissors
- Glue
- ice styles
- Acrylic paints
- Hanging ribbon
- Pencil
How to make pictures with autumn leaves:
- Paint the popsicle sticks any color you like and set them aside to dry.
- Print out the heart template or take a white sheet of paper and use glue to draw the heart or any other shape.
- Apply glue to the inside of the tree crown and spread the crumbled leaves and flowers on top. Press lightly and shake off the excess once the glue has dried.
- Place your child's hand and part of his forearm on the cardboard and trace the outline with a pencil.
- Cut out the hand motif and carefully pull the two layers of cardboard apart. This will reveal the inside with the wave shape and you will get two tree trunks from one impression.
- Apply glue to the tree trunkfrom the handprintand stick it on the picture. The fingers should be inside the crown, imitating the branches.
- Glue the popsicle sticks around the edge of the paper.
- Attach a piece of ribbon to the back of the paper for hanging later.
A notice:If you decide to use the tree trunk from the template, use it as a stencil and trace it onto cardboard to create the same natural look. Pull the two layers apart again to use the wave look.
There are templates for a heart and a tree trunkin this PDF.
