fall wall

We have been crafting up a swirling leaf storm with all of the leaves we collected, thanks to a Pinterest 'kids leaf project' search. So much so, that I felt an entire wall should be dedicated to the madness. I think a new 'Fall Wall' yearly tradition has been started, and I am sure pumpkins, ghosts, bats, and turkey feathers will join the foray before Christmas takes over.

We started with some leaf animals. I did the moose (yep, it's a moose) to show Little Miss the concept and then she started layering the red maple leaves for the bird's tail all on her own. We collaborated to decide what it should become, but wow that tail! It steals the show. And I love how when the leaves dried it curled up so prettily.

Lark picked up leaves and pointed on the paper where she wanted me to tape them, and I think hers turned out pretty stellar as well. ;)

If possible I like to do a little craft/art project during play dates, so after preschool when LM's 'boyfriend' (her words, not mine) came over I sat them down to do a leaf rubbing. This project is really easy and fun. All you do is lay leaves down on a flat surface, place paper on top (I taped it in place to make it even easier), and holding the crayon sideways rub it over the paper to reveal the leaves underneath.

We also used the leaves as stamps. I found the easiest way to do this was paint the leaves and then lay them face down on the paper and put a paper towel over the top and press all of the edges down, then carefully peel the leaves off. It didn't work very well if there was too much paint on the  leaves. Afterwards we just let all of the painted leaves dry.

Lastly, and my most favorite - we made leaf characters on a stick! These guys were probably the most fun to make since they are so silly. We used the leaves the girls had painted the day before and added googly eyes, mustaches, feathered hats, and super hero masks. Or just one eye, you know, whatever. Obviously, these can't take rough play, but making them was the best part for us. LM was giggling like crazy.  Lark was wandering around chewing on a stick which to her is tops, so, winning!

Happy Fall leaf crafting! If you have any other ideas I would love to know, I 'll put them on the agenda for next year.