The time for autumn crafts has definitely come. Nature finally gives us colorful leaves, chestnuts and acorns that you can use to make great things and have a fun afternoon. And what is more important to children than animals? So how about a themed craft project?
You can make animals with leaves and there are a variety of ideas for this. Our instructions are even suitable for small children who are still practicing crafts and can only stick at first. If you design the leaf animals on both sides, you can even use them as window pictures or hang them freely.
Hedgehog crafts with children
An animal that should not be missed in autumn isof course the hedgehog. You can draw and cut out the body yourself or use the template we have prepared for you. You can vary the materials for the face as you like.
- Paper hedgehog body
- small leaves
- Googly eye, berries, black felt-tip pen or white and black paper
- Berries, black paper or felt-tip pen for the nose
- Scissors and glue
How to make the animals out of leaves:
- Print out the template, cut out the desired shape and transfer it to the selected construction paper. Cut out the hedgehog body.
Or: Draw the shape freehand directly onto the construction paper and cut it out. - Glue several rows of leaves to the body. Start at the very outside and gradually work your way towards your face. Each row of leaves should overlap the previous one.
- Add an eye: Glue on a googly eye, paint a black dot, or cut out a black paper circle and a larger white paper circle and glue them together. You can also stick on a berry as an eye.
- Add the nose: Again, you can simply draw a black dot, glue on a paper circle, or use a berry.
Print thatPDF filewith the templatefrom here.
Hedgehog head as an alternative with a crown of leaves as spines
This hedgehog head is also a great variant for which you can:
- Cut a teardrop shape out of paper (you can use the shape from the squirrel PDF file below for this purpose).
- Then glue pointed leaves to the back of the head. First a shorter row and then a higher one.
- Finally, design the face and you're done.
How about youTurn leaves into cute foxes?
Funny owl with leaves instead of feathers
Leaves can also cutely mimic the natural feathers of owls. Here's how to make the owl made of leaves:
- Print out the template, cut out the desired shape and transfer it to the selected construction paper. Then you can cut out the owl's body.
Or: Draw the shape freehand directly onto the construction paper and cut it out. - Now create the lower part of the body with the leaves. Start at the bottom and let the leaves extend over the edge. Gradually work your way towards your face, i.e. upwards. Each row of leaves should overlap the previous one.
- When it comes to your eyes, you're once again spoiled for choice: homemade from black and white paper or quick and easy with wiggly eyes. Remember to make the eyes nice and big, as is typical for owls.
- You can use a small leaf as a beak and simply stick it between the eyes. If you don't have a suitable sheet, you can also use a homemade one made of yellow paper. A triangle is completely sufficient, although you can also cut one out of a sheet.
DiePDF fileto print out the owl bodycan be found here.
Craft ideas for owls made from pine conescan be found here.
Squirrel with fluffy tail made of leaves
Isn't this squirrel just cute? You can get it quickly and easily using our free template. But free hand is also possible, because the shapes don't have to be perfect.
- Print out the template, cut out the two shapes (circle and teardrop shape) and transfer them to the selected construction paper. After that, you can cut out the squirrel's head, body and tail.
Or: Draw the shapes freehand directly onto the construction paper and cut them out. - Glue the shapes together.
- Cover the tail completely with leaves. To do this, start at the tip of the tail and work your way to the other end. Each new row should overlap the previous one slightly and it is best to extend the last row of sheets to the basket so that the interface of the paper is not visible.
- Use smaller sheets to make the ears (glue them to the back of the head) and the paws.
- For the eyes and nose, like with the hedgehog, you can get creative with the materials.
The free print template for the squirrelPDF-Format can be found here.
Cover photo: lp-studio/ Shutterstock
