One of the highlights of the fall season is the beautiful colors of the leaves. They have been the subject of many a photograph, video and painting. And for kids, they provide the inspiration for fun and colorful crafts.
If you and your child enjoy looking at trees in the fall, why not make one to display in your home? There are a few ways that you can go about it, but all are inexpensive and beautiful. Here are some ideas.
Large Fall Tree
Supplies
- Fall leaves
- Glycerin
- Water
- Baking pan
- Paper towels
- Paper grocery bag
- Pencil
- Scissors
- Pieces of bark
- Glue
Instructions
1. Mix two parts glycerin to one part water in the baking pan. Place leaves in the mixture in a single layer, and weight them down if necessary to keep them covered. Leave for 2 or 3 days.
2. Remove the leaves from the glycerin. Dry them with a paper towel.
3. Draw a tree shape on the paper bag. Cut out and turn it over if there is a logo on the front.
4. Glue leaves all over the top of the tree. If you made branches, glue them to the branches as heavily or as lightly as desired.
5. Glue pieces of bark to the tree’s trunk. Let glue dry.
Small Fall Tree
Supplies
- Construction paper
- Pencil
- Scissors
- Glitter glue
Instructions
1. Place your hand somewhere between the middle and top of a piece of brown construction paper. Trace the hand and the portion of your arm that’s on the paper. Cut out.
2. Draw leaf shapes on red, yellow and orange construction paper. Cut them out.
3. Use glitter glue to draw veins on the leaves. Let dry.
4. Glue the leaves onto the branches (fingers) of your tree. Let dry.
Other Ideas
Instead of using real or construction paper leaves, use fabric scraps or pieces of scrapbooking paper in fall colors to make leaves.
Make leaf rubbings on plain white paper. Simply place a leaf under the paper, and rub over it with the side of an unwrapped crayon. Then cut them out and place them on your tree.
Cut an extra large tree out of brown kraft paper (the kind that comes in rolls). Trace handprints onto construction paper and cut them out to make leaves.
Embellish your tree with other items found in nature such as preserved flower petals and pieces of dull glass. Glue them onto the trunk, or paste your tree onto a piece of paper and glue them around it.
Add a stick-on magnet to the back of a small tree for easy hanging on the refrigerator.
About CSAHM
Decorating for Fall is so much fun! I love it almost as much as Christmas decorating. It’s been so long since I’ve prepared leaves this way – but it reminds me of good times of the past – thanks for sharing!!!
My grandmother once made placemats for each member of our family by getting heavy-duty contact paper or laminating sheets – and pressed beautiful fall leaves between them. She included a picture of one person to personalize each placemat, and trimmed the edges of the placemat with fancy scissors. I don’t know if she preserved the leaves first or not – but they lasted for YEARS!!! It was fun to use a placemat that had a picture of me in it – and the fall leaves were so beautiful.
That sounds like a great craft, Debbie! I’m hoping to have more time to do some fall crafts with the kiddos next month. I know they will love it.