Paper Bag Fall Tree

Help your Children decorate for fall with this easy craft.

What you'll need:
-Brown paper lunch bags
-Scissors
-Glue
-Paper (Fall colors)

 The how to:

1- Cut lunch bag into half inch strips.  Start at the opening and cut half way down the bag.

2- Open bag and stand it up.

3- Hold base of bag with one hand and twist the middle of bag to create the trunk of the tree.

4- (example of finished trunk)

5- Twist two of the bag strips together to create branches.

6- (example of finished branches)

7- Rip strips of colored paper into tiny pieces and glue them all over the branches of the tree.

Done.

Garland of Gratitude

Living Green

Here is a great way to remind your family what they are grateful for.

What You'll Need:

- Construction Paper (in fall colors)

- Leaf Template to Trace (I searched for a free one on the internet)

- Twine

- Tape

- Scissors

- Pen or Marker

The How To:

-First trace your leaf pattern on to your construction paper.

-Then cut them all out.

- Next crumple up all the leaves to give them a worn look.

- Now have each person in your family come up with at least one thing to be thankful for and have them write it on their leaf.

- To hang the leaves, fold the stem of the leaf over the twine and tape the stem to the back of the leaf.

- If you have children who are not old enought to write on their own, you can have them draw a picture on theirs instead.

This is a great way to help everyone to have an attitude of gratitude.

Fall Alphabet

For the Family

Another great way to put those fall leaves to use....a leaf alphabet.

What You'll Need:

- White card stock or other stiff paper

-Glue

-Pressed leaves

-Black marker

The How to:

-Start by giving everyone a piece of card stock.

-Then spread your pressed fall leaves out on the table so you can see the shapes and colors of them.

-Next brainstorm about different things that start with the letters of the alphabet.

-After you have come up with a few different things, start piecing your ideas together on you paper.

- Then glue them into place when you are happy with what you have come up with.

-Next add details to your pictures. Eyes or mouth on the animals, etc.

-Finally you can add the letter of the alphabet that the picture represents or you can create a whole scene made out of leaf creatures.

Fall Leaf Hanger

So Simple

Here's a fun finger painting craft your children will love helping you make.

What you'll need:

-White Poster Board
-Red, Yellow and Green Finger Paints
-Raffia
-Stick
-Leaf Stencil

The how to:

-Drip the finger paint in different places all over the white poster board and have your
children spread it around with their fingers.

-Let it dry and then do the same thing to the other side.

Once the paint is dry take your leaf stencil and trace it onto the board.
(I used a leaf cookie cutter as a stencil.) Trace nine leafs.

-Cut out the leaves and punch holes in the tops and bottoms of each leave
except for the bottom row. (punch only one hole in the top of the leave)

-Use the raffia to tie the leaves together. (Three rows of three leaves.)
Then tie each row to the stick.

-Tie the raffia to each end of the stick to make the hanger.

For some personal charm, add some some pictures to each leaf.

Thankful Banner

This Thankful Banner will help keep the feeling of 'Fall' this Thanksgiving!

What you'll need:
-Scrapbook Paper (Your choice)
Two - 8.5 x 11 (Printer size) (Mine is cream)
Two - 12 x 12 (Mine is Brown)
Four - 12 x 12 (Mine is leaf pattern)
-Glue
-Glitter
-Scissors or Paper Cutter
-Hole Punch
-Raffia
-Fall Leaves (Real or Fake)

The how to:

-Place your 8.5 x 11 Scrapbook paper in your printer and print out each letter.
Then cut into squares.

-Glue Letters onto second pattern paper and cut, leaving a 1/4 inch border around each letter.

-Glue each letter onto third pattern paper and cut, leaving at least a 1-2 inch. border.

-Once all backgrounds are cut out and glued together, trace each letter with a glue bottle
and fill in the center.

-Sprinkle glitter over glue and set aside to dry.

-Once letters are dry, punch holes in the top corners of each letter then punch holes about 1/4 inch. below the stem on each leaf.
(Leaves are coated with Mod Podge)

-Tie the corners and leafs together with Raffia.

-Once all the letters are tied together make loops for the ends and hang it up!

Fall Leaf Votive

Living Green

Here's a beautiful way to display your pressed fall leaves.

What you'll need:
-Glass Jar
-Fall Leaves
-Ribbon (Your choice)
-Mod Podge
-Glitter (optional)
-Paint Brush
-Wax Paper

The how to:

-Gather together your pressed fall leaves and a jar. (Mason jars work great!)

(Add a little glitter to your Mod Podge if you like)
-To start, paint the back of your fall leaves and a spot on your jar with Mod Podge. Paint 3 or 4 leaves at a time to give them time to absorb the moisture of the Mod Podge.

-Press your leaves onto the jar and paint Mod Podge over the top of them. Don't worry if your leaves are stiff and don't want to wrap around the jar at first. As the Mod Podge sits on the leaf it will gradually start to soften, allowing it to bend... but you will come across a few leaves that just don't want to bend. Not to worry. Just leave the leaf alone for a while and as the Mod Podge starts to dry it becomes tacky and sticky which will help when pressing the leaf around the jar.

-It's up to you how to place your leave on the jar. You can put a lot of leaves on and overlap them or only put a few on and space them out.

-Once all your leaves are on your jar, check to make sure there is a layer of Mod Podge over the whole jar. This will give it a nice uniform look.
*(Do not paint the Mod Podge over the lip of the jar or the base of the jar.)

-As you wait for the Mod Podge to dry, periodically check to see if any leaves are pulling away from the jar. If so press them back down. Continue to check until your satisfied with how the leaves are sticking.

-Once it's completely dry tie a ribbon around it and place a tea light candle inside.

Enjoy the warm glow of your beautiful Fall Leaf Votive!

Fall Craft for Kids

So Simple

Here is an easy fall boredom buster for the kiddos.

What You'll Need:

- Construction Paper

- Water color paints

-Straw

-Water

The How To:

- First put some watered down paint onto your paper.

- Then use the straw to blow the drop around. You can add more paint as needed. *Note- I found that my 3 year old had a hard time blowing the paint around.

- Next have the kids use their little fingers to create leaves for their tree. And that's all there is to it!

Leaf Press

Living Green

Here is a leaf press that is small enough that you can take it hiking with you.

What You'll Need:

-Card Stock or Construction paper

-Cardboard (can be from a cardboard box)

-Scissors

-Glue

-String, Ribbon, Large Rubber bands, Twine, or other material to hold press together

The How To:

-First cut your card board to the size that you want your press (I have 5 pieces of cardboard in my press). I cut mine to match the size of my cardstock, which is 8x8 inches.

-Then I glued card stock on to the front and back of each piece of cardboard. This is to just make it look cute and make the card board a little more sturdy.

-Next I placed the thicker pieces of card board on the front and back of the press and left the thinner/flimsy ones in the middle.

-Then it is time to add your leaves between the pages of the press.

- Next use your string, ribbon, rubber band, etc. to hold the press together.

-Now, if you want, you can add some rocks or other heavy object on top of the press to help flatten the leaves.

-Finally after about 2 weeks your pressed leaves should be ready!

One thing I love about this is that it is small enough that you can throw it in your backpack when you are out hiking. That way all the leaves you (or your kids) collect won't be shredded and falling apart even before you get home.

Fall Tree

Just For Fun

Here is a great way to bring a little bit of home-made fall into your house.

What You'll Need:

- Coffee Filters

- Spray bottle

- Water color paints

- Paint brush

- Scissors

- Glue gun

- Tree branches

The How To:

- First get out some coffee filters and spray them with water from the spray bottle.

-Then, start painting them with the water colors. It's fun to watch the colors spread out on the wet coffee filter. I had my kids use fall colors (yellow, orange, red, green, brown) to paint them with.

-Next (when the coffee filter was dry) I folded it in half several times until it was too small to fold anymore.
-Then I drew half a leaf on it and then cut it out.

-Next comes the glueing on of your cute leaves. Put a drop of glue from the glue gun on the end of a leaf and stick it on the branch.

And there you have it. A fun and easy craft that lets you prolong the feel of fall after all the leaves have fallen off the trees outside.