This blustery, cosy season brings an abundance of colour to the trees, and as the leaves start to fall, they become the perfect inspiration for creative craft projects. Here are 15 seasonal and easy leaf craft ideas for kids that make the most of all that natural colour.
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These leaf craft ideas are ideal for rainy days and need just a few craft essentials you probably already have at home. The colour and shape of the leaves are the star of each project, so keep an eye out for bright reds, ambers and golds to bring your crafts to life.
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Fun Leaf Craft Ideas
Leaf Painting
Image: Simple Fun For Kids
Leaf painting is as simple as it sounds and perfect for even the youngest toddler. Simple Fun For Kids shows just how easy it is for little ones to get started. Let them experiment with different colours, patterns and designs to create something truly their own.
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Hammered Leaf Prints
Image: Build Make Create Bake
With just a hammer, some leaves and paper, you can create a really interesting piece of artwork. The hammering releases the natural dye from the leaves onto the paper below, leaving a beautiful, textured print.
Try making a colour collage of leaf prints, or use the technique to create handmade cards to send to friends and family. Build Make Create Bake has a great step-by-step guide that makes it easy to have a go yourself.
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Leaf Rubbing
Image: Mama Papa Bubba
One of the most familiar leaf crafts is leaf rubbing. All you need are leaves, crayons and paper. Different leaves have different textures, which create interesting patterns on their own or layered together, like in this lovely version by Mama.Papa.Bubba.
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Leaf Characters
Image: My Owl Barn
These adorable painted leaf owls from My Owl Barn are such a fun project. Use leaves of different shapes to build a whole family of owls, adding detail with paint and markers.
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Leaf Prints
Image: Kleas
Leaf prints are a classic art activity that leaves plenty of room for creativity. Bright colours combined with varying leaf shapes make a real impact, just like in this lovely example from Kleas.
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Leaf Paper Lanterns
Image: Red Ted Art
These lanterns are fun to make and perfect for brightening up darker autumn evenings. You’ll need leaves, greaseproof paper, cardboard for structure, and glue or a stapler. Red Ted Art’s top tip is to use plenty of smaller leaves rather than larger ones for the best effect.
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Leaf Silhouettes
Image: Artsy Momma
We’ve seen the effect of painting with leaves — now let’s look at painting around them to create a silhouette. Artsy Momma shows how, using fingerprint painting to build a colourful background around leaf outlines. The result is really striking.
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Leaf Animals
Top left: Krokotak; Top right: iCreativeIdeas; Bottom left and right: Crafty Morning
The colours, shapes and textures of leaves can become almost anything — a butterfly’s wings, a lion’s mane, or layered feathers and fish scales. We love these leaf animal ideas.
Clockwise from top left: Krokotak’s hedgehog using dried leaves is a great rainy day activity; iCreativeIdeas uses a mix of different sized and coloured leaves to create a fantastic underwater scene; even young toddlers will enjoy making a friendly lion like this one from Crafty Morning, who also created this Thanksgiving Turkey as a lovely way to use autumnal coloured leaves.
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Leaf Bowl
Image: To Simply Inspire
What a fun idea! Check out what To Simply Inspire created using leaves, glue and a balloon — it makes lovely seasonal decor for the home.
For another colourful and easy alternative, check out how to make a button bowl.
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Leaf Canvas Prints
Image: HGTV
Use leaves and foliage of different shapes and sizes to create your own wall art with this technique from HGTV. Vary the colours, spray strength and arrangement to build a whole series of canvas prints.
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Glass Leaf Lanterns
Image: Spark & Chemistry
Spark & Chemistry has a great step-by-step guide for these gorgeous glass jar lanterns, which use the natural colours of the leaves, twine and candlelight to create a warm autumn glow.
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Leafy Pumpkins
Image: The Sweet Escape
Looking for something a little different for your pumpkins this autumn? This decorated version from The Sweet Escape is a lovely idea — we love the contrast of the white painted pumpkin against the autumnal leaves.
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Have your say! Which of these leaf craft ideas is your favourite? Leave a comment below and let us know — we’d love to hear from you.
Frequently Asked Questions
What age group are these leaf crafts suitable for?
Most of these ideas work well for toddlers right up to older primary school kids. Simpler activities like leaf painting and leaf rubbing suit younger children, while lanterns, canvas prints and hammered leaf prints are better for kids who can manage a bit more fine motor control or supervised tool use.
What kind of leaves work best for crafting?
Leaves that are freshly fallen tend to be more flexible and easier to work with than ones that have dried and gone brittle. A good mix of shapes, sizes and colours gives the most interesting results, especially for projects like leaf animals or collages.
Do I need any special materials for these crafts?
No — most of these ideas use things you’ll likely already have at home, such as paper, paint, crayons, glue and cardboard. A few, like the glass leaf lanterns or canvas prints, use household jars or basic craft canvas, but nothing specialist.
How do I stop leaves from crumbling once they’ve dried out?
Leaves are at their best for crafting when used relatively fresh. If you’re storing them for a few days first, keep them flat between sheets of paper or in a book to help them stay pliable for longer.
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Save These Ideas for Later
Not ready to start crafting today? Bookmark this page or save it to your favourite Pinterest board so you have these leaf craft ideas ready to go whenever the next rainy afternoon rolls around.
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