Create leaf art for kids to make at home. The next time you are out walking with the kids, take a bag with you and collect leaves, bark and other natural materials. There are many projects to do with leaves, but these 3 are our favourites. On your walk, talk about why they have fallen to the ground, the different colours, and what they could be used for in art. There is no limit to a child’s imagination. Sometimes, they just need a little help getting started.
Bird wall art
These are a great gift idea. There’s nothing better than something handmade, especially from a child. You can search for templates online, or outline yourself. We printed out some images of the birds so we could follow the same direction of the feathers. Leaves have the same shape as feathers, so any bird will work with this art.
You can download our templates here: Bird Wall Art Templates
Materials & instructions
- Downloaded templates
- Aquadhere CLEAR exterior woodwork glue
- Double-sided tape
- Thick cardboard
- Scissors
- Ruler & pencil
- Weights to hold down the leaves when glueing (we used heavy clean objects)
Stick your main template down on a piece of thick cardboard. Now cut out the individual template shapes. Sort through your leaves and materials, choose larger flat leaves, then cut to shape. Cut a piece of thick cardboard using the wing template. Select leaves that will work well on your wing paying attention to the direction of the feathers. Stick down the comb, beak and feet first using the glue. Think about how feathers are layered. Start at the tail and work from the back of your bird so the leaves look like feathers. Stick down the wings & eyes last and you can fill in any gaps.
Leaf Crowns
This activity is hours of fun and can be completed in two sessions. Collecting and painting the leaves is one activity. Then, leaf crowns can be constructed in another session. Kids can create a play using their imagination and create a royal event.
Materials & instructions
- A collection of fallen leaves
- Craft paint (we used acrylic)
- Various sized paintbrushes
- Egg carton paint tray
- Cardboard for the headband & a stapler
- Super Glue
Paint the leaves in solid colours and let them dry. Then add different designs and colour schemes that work together and then let dry. Cut a strip of cardboard approximately 3 cm wide and lay it flat. Start in the middle glue down one leaf at a time and work your way out on each side. When their leaf crowns are exactly how they would like them, measure and staple each child’s headband individually at the back.
Rainbow trees
If your house is anything like ours, there’s always some materials lying around you can use to create a masterpiece. Rainbow trees are a perfect way to use any leftover leaves you collect from the leaf crown project above. We went out on an adventure looking for flat branches and decided they would make awesome trees.
Materials & instructions
- A collection of fallen leaves, branches and bark
- Acrylic paint in lots of colours
- A variety of paintbrushes
- 3 mm MDF sheet as your base, or similar
- Super Glue
Cut a piece of MDF sheet to fit the size of your branch. You may need to break some branches to make them flat on the board. Glue down your branches. Select and lay out your pre-painted leaves, then glue them. Don’t forget to glue down your bark for the base to represent your dirt mound.
Leaf art for kids
If you’re looking for fun ways to entertain the kids and you’ve enjoyed making leaf art for kids, head over to our Kids section for more inspiration.
