Easy Fall Crafts
Fall is a great time to get outside an collect natural items to use for crafts. Acorns, walnuts, leaves and seeds are a few of the items that can be used to make boats, necklaces, pictures and sculptures. Here are 3 craft projects that kids can enjoy this fall.
Acorn Necklace
Making an acorn necklace requires acorns that still have their caps. The acorns will be used as a pendent so be sure to gather enough nuts for everyone to make as many as they want.
Items Needed
Capped acorns
Glue
Fuzzy Yarn
Scissors
Permanent marker
String
1. Remove the cap of the acorn so that it comes off in one piece.
2. Cut small pieces of yarn. These will be the hair. Place a drop of glue on the top of the acorn and place the yarn pieces so they hang down the side of the acorn. Place another drop of glue and replace the acorn cap. Hold the cap down for at least 60 seconds.
3. Add a face to the acorn with the permanent marker.
4. lay the acorn in the center of the string and tie a know around the stem of the cap. Place a drop of glue over the knot to help keep the string from coming off. Tie the string ends together to make a necklace. This craft can be used to simply make acorn people for decoration or play. Make a whole family of acorns for the fall.
Walnut Boat
Items Needed
Walnut shell – can be gathered from a local park
Matchstick
Paper
Scissors
Glue
Clay
Small puddle or sink
1. Open the walnut and remove all of the nut from the inside of the shell to create the hull of the boat.
2. Cut a triangle approximately 2 inches on each side from the construction paper. This will be the sail.
3. Insert a small amount of clay into the bottom of the walnut shell. Press the matchstick into this clay. If the stick does not stay up on its own add a drop of glue to hold it in place.
4. Glue the sail to the matchstick and set the boat aside to dry. The sail can be made stronger by using cardboard instead of paper.
Once the glue has dried the boat is ready to set sail.
Leaf Picture
Items Needed
Colorful leaves
Clear contact paper
This craft is a variation on the familiar project of pressing pretty leaves between wax paper to create a beautiful collage. This variation does not require the use of a hot iron.
1. Gather colored leaves and seeds from a yard, park or other outdoor area. Be sure to gather only leaves that have already fallen.
2. Lay the contact paper on a flat surface and cut a piece that is twice as long as it is wide.
3. Lay the contact paper on a flat surface so the sticky side is up and peel back the covering to reveal the stickiness.
4. Carefully place leaves on of the sticky area to create a collage.
5. Use both hands to fold the contact paper over the leaf collage and press the paper together.
6. Hang the finished collage.
These are just three possible craft ideas for fall. Other crafts may be specific to holidays such as Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas
For more fun fun craft ideas check out www.creativekids.thingstodowithkidsmn.com