This Gorgeous Fall Garland Can Be Made With Leaves, Glitter and Book Pages
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With autumn comes leaves and other foliage in a spectrum of vibrant colors, so it makes sense that you'd be tempted to find the perfect DIY projects to help you display your bounty. One of our favorite ideas? Leaf crafts and leaf art — add them to the top of your list of fall activities. Incorporating real leaves into creative fall crafts is one of the easiest things to do, especially since the ideas are almost endless. Plus, they're fun for kid and adults alike!
There are leaf butterflies, leaf animals, leaf finger puppets and even the ever-so-popular leaf handprint turkeys. You can choose from spooky ghost leaves, gratitude leaf garlands, stunning leaf centerpieces and leafy cake toppers for fall desserts. Many of our ideas can also be used to decorate your home for fall — think cookie leaf wreaths and leaf gratitude favors, while others help preschoolers and elementary students pass the time (creating leaf people and leaf silhouettes, for example!). And if you're stumped on fall holiday decorating, we have leaf projects for Thanksgiving and Halloween, too.
Moreover, all these leaf crafts can be made with paint, cardstock, glitter, stickers and scrapbook paper. And if you don't have the required materials in your craft box already, you'll be delighted to know that they're inexpensive and can be saved for other crafts you might try throughout the year. So, let's make fall your favorite season with these fantastic projects below. Your crafting skills may surprise you!
Ghost Leaves
Start your Halloween crafts early with these spooky ghost leaves. Collect a few sturdy leaves from the backyard, paint them white, then use a black Sharpie for the eyes and mouths. Boo!
Get the tutorial at Hello Wonderful »
RELATED: Easy and Fun Halloween Crafts for Kids to DIY This Spooky Season
Leaf People
All you need to take leaves from crunchy to incredible is puff paint — just draw adorable faces onto the leaves. Add arms and legs after gluing the creatures to paper or cardstock.
Get the tutorial at Emma Owl »
Glue and Chalk Fall Leaf Garland
Glue and chalk come make the perfect pairing for this craft. Place leaves on top of cardstock paper, then outline them with glue. After the glue dries, color the leaves with chalk pastels. Kids will love blending the colors with their fingers and cotton swabs.
Get the tutorial at Hello Wonderful »
Leaf Lion
Gather leaves to create the lion's mane and brown paper for the head. Get creative as you draw the lion's nose and whiskers and use a black marker, a charcoal pencil, or paint for the eyes and pupils.
Get the tutorial at Hello Wonderful »
Gratitude Leaf Garland
No leaves? No problem! Use blogger Laura's leaf template to trace leaves onto cardstock. On the back of the leaves, write a list of things you and your family are grateful for. Then, simply attach them to a woven garland with small clothespins.
Get the tutorial at A Beautiful Mess »
Watercolor Leaf Art
Trace leaves onto paper and create your own geometric shapes inside to color. You can use a black crayon or a black oil pastel for the tracing and watercolor paint for the center designs.
Get the tutorial at The Best Ideas for Kids »
Spray Painted Leaf Art
Grab your favorite spray paint colors for this simple art project, which uses leaves as the silhouettes. Just tape the leaves onto paper with masking tape, then mix paint and water in a spray bottle to start spritzing the colors to recreate this look.
Get the tutorial at The Best Ideas for Kids »
Leaf Centerpiece
An eye-catching fall (or Thanksgiving) centerpiece is easy to DIY with an assortment of leaves, pinecones, moss, berries and flowers. Show off your arrangement with a wooden crate or decorative basket.
Get the tutorial at A Piece of Rainbow »
RELATED: Easy Thanksgiving Crafts for Kids of All Ages
Glittery Book Page Leaves
Don't toss your old, tattered books just yet. Use the pages to create glittery fall leaves to add personality to your home for the fall season. Place a leaf on top of a page then cut out the design. Add glue around the leaf's outline and sprinkle glitter on top. Once you're done creating a few leaves, attach them to twine with clothespins and wrap the twine around a tree branch for hanging.
Get the tutorial at Domestically Blissful »
Sponge Leaf Tree
With this easy-peasy craft, your kids won't be painting their own leaves. Instead, they'll be stamping them! Have them trace simple leaf shapes onto sponges. Watch as they cut the shapes out. Let them press their leaf sponges in paint before stamping them onto paper and any tree they may have painted to design.
Get the tutorial at The Crafting Chicks »
Handprint Leaf Turkey
With fall comes Thanksgiving! Prepare for turkey day with a handprint turkey made with leaves, a paper plate, and red, yellow and brown cardstock.
Get the tutorial at I Heart Arts N' Crafts »
Leaf Clay Dish
Teens and tweens will enjoy making leaf clay dishes (especially since they make gorgeous jewelry displays). You'll need leaves, air dry clay, acrylic paint and Mod Podge gloss.
Get the tutorial at The Best Ideas for Kids »
Owl Craft
No major instructions need here. Once kids cut out an owl shape using construction paper, they can paste golden leaves on it to create feathers!
Pumpkin Leaf Favors
This is a creative "thank you" note idea for any guests you have over during the autumn months. Your little ones can help by tracing leaves on green cardstock (or any color you prefer).
Get the tutorial at The House That Lars Built »
Cookie Leaf Wreath
Edible crafts might be the best ones. Use sugar-cookie mix or ready-to-bake dough for the wreath and use leaf cutters for the designs.
Get the tutorial at Country Living »
Leaf Silhouette Art
Younger children can use a painted background for their leaf art, while older ones can use glitter paper or washi tape.
Get the tutorial at The Best Ideas for Kids »
Leaf Garland
Look for vibrant leaves that still have their stems so you can easily tie them with hemp cord to create a seasonal garland. It's definitely one of the most simple crafts on our list.
Watercolor Fall Leaf Wreath
Transform watercolor leaves into a beautiful wreath that'll leave guests with a great first impression. You only need a few materials, including watercolor paint and watercolor paper.
Get the tutorial at Happiness is Homemade »
RELATED: Fall Wreaths to Welcome the Season in Style
Gold Leaf Place Card
Looking for a unique way to spruce up your dinner table? Paint only one side of the leaves gold, then use a gold Sharpie to write your guests' initials on the original side for a creative and stunning place card.
RELATED: Easy and Fun Fall Crafts for Adults That Capture the Best Parts of the Season
Finger Leaf Puppets
Take your kids on a walk through the park and assign them the task of picking out leaves, pebbles, bark and twigs to use for their finger leaf puppets. Other supplies include cardboard tubes and wiggly eyes.
Get the tutorial at Crafts by Amanda »
Leaf Mobile
After you’ve pressed your leaves and gathered some sticks, have fun helping kids turn them into a pretty — and colorful — hanging decoration.
Get the tutorial at Art Bar Blog »
RELATED: Creative Activities for Kids That Will Keep Them Entertained for Hours
Craft Stick Leaf Family Puppets
Start by creating these cute “leaf family” craft stick puppets — and then check out the recommended reading for ideas on how to use them. Create your own seasonal stories!
Get the tutorial at Homeschool Preschool »
Leaf Cake Topper
Introduce your budding baker to this simple craft, which requires minimal materials (think: paper, paint, twigs) to create some show-stopping decorations for your sweets. Then, dig in!
Get the tutorial at The House That Lars Built »
Leaf Bunting
Use real leaves — and other household supplies, like wax paper and an iron — to design an autumn leaf bunting. It's a banner craft, if we do say so ourselves.
Get the tutorial at The Artful Parent »
Paper Leaves
Kids will love trying their hand at folding these pretty accordion leaves, created in an array of autumn colors. Use them to decorate a fall table.
Fairy Leaf Puppets
For a tween-friendly spin on puppets, these fairy leaf versions — which are made with real leaves — are as beautiful as they are unique.
Get the tutorial at Willowday »
Salt Dough Leaf Impressions
Does your preschooler have a growing collection of leaves that they can't part with — but you wish they would? Try creating these doughy leaf impressions as a compromise.
Get the tutorial at The Imagination Tree »
Puffy Painted Leaves
Puffy paints aren’t only for decorating t-shirts: Put them to new use with this fun fall activity. Or, opt for one of the other leaf painting techniques, like using watercolors.
Get the tutorial at The Best Ideas for Kids »
Leaf Letters
Little learners will love the interactive nature of this craft — if you write letters on the leaves in white crayon, they magically appear when you paint them with watercolors! Sneak a little reading lesson into your fall craft.
Get the tutorial at Buggy and Buddy »
Leaf Rubbing Collage
Have lots of crayons without the wrappers? (Us too!) Instead of tossing them, put them to good use by letting your child make a fun leaf-rubbing collage.
Get the tutorial at Mama. Papa. Bubba. »
Leaf Handprint Tree
Skip the handprint-turned-turkey craft this year! Instead, go with this new take on the traditional palm print project that incorporates lots of fall leaves.
Get the tutorial at Non-Toy Gifts »
Leaf Scratch Art
This STEAM-inspired craft will feel like magic to kindergartners, who will get to see the color-changing process “in action” — and learn more about why leaves change colors, too. (Hint: The green crayon represents chlorophyll.)
Get the tutorial at Pink Stripey Socks »
Leaf Comic Art
Your future graphic novelist is sure to appreciate this inventive leaf-themed take on the genre. Bonus: The tutorial offers some great writing prompts for inspiration.
Get the tutorial at The Craft Train »
Leafy Puzzle Tree
If you’ve been doing lots of puzzles all spring and summer — and who hasn’t? — this fun-to-make fall tree offers a unique way to repurpose the pieces into leaves. It's a good use for easy puzzles the kids may have outgrown and a great way to display missing pieces.
Get the tutorial at I Heart Crafty Things »
Leaf Dinosaurs
Dino-obsessed kids will get a kick out of this craft, which brings together leaves, a paper plate, and a few other materials to create a one-of-a-kind triceratops.
Get the tutorial at Our Kid Things »
Scrapbook Paper Leaf
Break out the glue and some leftover paper to piece together this cute craft, which comes complete with its own template. It's a good way to reuse some paper scraps.
Get the tutorial at Cutesy Crafts »
Leaf Butterflies
Who says a leaf has to stay … a leaf? With this imaginative project, leaves transform into whole new creatures.
Get the tutorial at One Little Project »
Leaf Bookmarks
These DIY bookmarks do double duty: Not only are they a simple way to feature some recently-found leaves, but they'll encourage kids to read, too.
Get the tutorial at Mommy Evolution »
Leaf Window Clings
Forget those dollar-store window clings that never seem to stick. These DIY leaf-shaped window clings are easier, and way more fun, to make.
Get the tutorial at Typically Simple »
Gratitude Clay Leaves
These clay gratitude leaves are a great family bonding activity — on Thanksgiving or any day of the year. Hang them up on branches to make a Thankful Tree.
Get the tutorial at Rhythms of Play »
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