The Autumn Equinox is upon us! During the equinox, the length of day and night are almost exactly the same, marking the beginning of autumn. To celebrate the start of hot chocolate and sweater season, we've put together five autumn themed craft ideas for the whole family to try!
LEAF PRINTS
One of the joys of autumn for children is running through piles of russet leaves! The next time you’re on a walk in a park or on the way home from school, encourage the kids to gather some leaves in a bag to bring home for this craft project.
Leaf print collages are a great way to engage children of all ages. All you have to do is collect an assortment of leaves and grab some acrylic paint and blank paper or fabric. Carefully dip the leaves into the paint, then press to the paper in whatever pattern you like. These prints make for beautiful bedroom wall decorations!
You will need:
Real leaves
Paper or fabric
Poster paint (for paper)
Fabric or acrylic paint (for fabric)
Paint brushes
A mat or newspaper
MAKE A THANKFUL TREE
Thankful Trees are nature display bouquets for the home. They're decorated with affirmation leaves painted by all the members of your household.
There are many ways to decorate a thankful tree that will help cultivate an attitude of gratitude in the home. Collect an assortment of sticks and leaves from your local forest or green space and arrange the branches in a vase to make a tree shape. Use sand or pebbles to secure the branches and decorate the tree with ribbon and pom poms. Write little anecdotes about things you are thankful for on each leaf with extra fine tip paint pens. Then attach each leaf to the branches of the tree with masking tape.
You will need:
A vase
Sand and/or pebbles
An assortment of fallen tree branches
An assortment of fall leaves
Autumn coloured craft pom poms + ribbon (optional)
Masking tape
Extra fine tip paint pens
Image Courtesy of Rhythms Of Play
MAKE NORTHERN LIGHTS LANTERNS
This luminous lantern craft can be enjoyed by children of all ages and makes for an innovative D-I-Y bedside light once complete!
Take an old jam jar and grab some tissue paper and shred it into strips. Then apply glue to the base of the outside of your jar and start fixing the tissue paper to the sides in thin layers. For a true Northern Lights effect, work your way up from light to dark colours.
Once you reach the top of the jar, seal the tissue paper with a final coat of clear glue. When the glue has dried, attach a handle using three pipe cleaners and add an LED tea light inside. Then, sit back and watch the colours dance!
You will need:
coloured tissue paper
clear glue or craft sealer
a jar
an LED tea light
pipe cleaners
TREE BARK RUBBINGS
Get the kids outdoors and playing in nature with a tree bark rubbing project. This activity is magically simple!
Grab some crayons, masking tape and paper and head outdoors. Once you’ve found an interesting looking tree, take your paper and attach it to the trunk. Then, rub the paper with your crayon, and watch the intricate patterns of the bark underneath appear.
You will need:
Crayons with their wrappings removed
Paper
Masking tape
MAKE PINE CONE ANIMALS
Pine cones are a staple of any autumn season! The next time you come across some fallen pine cones, why not collect them to craft some cute D-I-Y animal ornaments?
Cut a small circle of felt to make faces for your animals. Cut out two smaller circles and attach them to either side of the animal's face with glue to fashion ears. Lastly, complete your animal with a small black pom-pom for a nose and two small black beads for the eyes!