Leaf Creatures: A Fun Fall Leaf Craft

Fall is the perfect time to take the kids for a walk and collect leaves.  

But what do you do with all those leaves once you get home?  

When it comes to crafting with leaves, there really is only so many times kids want to do leaf rubbings.  And, if your kids are like mine, they don’t want to just throw the leaves away.  

Use some of those colorful leaves to make leaf creatures this fall.   It’s one of our favorite leaf crafts for kids. 

Leaf creatures are fun to make and really let kids use their imaginations.  It’s fun to see how each leaf will be used.

Turned one way that maple leaf might be an alien’s head; flip it over and it could become a butterfly.  The possibilities in this leaf craft are endless!

 You can also use those leaves in a quick fall nature bin.

Leaf Creatures

Materials Needed:

• Leaves
• Double-Sided Tape
• Markers
• Craft paper
• Wiggly eyes

Collect some colorful leaves on a fall walk with the kids.  Make sure the leaves are dry before you start crafting with them.

Depending on your child’s age, you might want to spark your child’s imagination by suggesting what a few leaves look like.  “This one looks like the wings of a butterfly!”

When you are ready to begin, secure the leaves to your paper with double-sided tape.

Use markers and wiggly eyes to help add details as you create your very own leaf craft pictures. 

My favorite part of this fall leaf craft is watching their imaginations come to life.

The kids carefully chose the leaves and arranged them on paper.  That little brown leaf really does make the perfect owl!

Once your child has created a picture or two with the leaves they collected, you may find that they want to look for more leaves. 

My daughter wanted to hunt our front yard.  She soon was talking about what each leaf would become as she picked them up.

She mulled over the leaves, looking for two that looked alike to become fairy wings.  And she chose a spiky, little leaf to make a cute hedgehog.

Tips for this Leaf Craft for Kids:

• You can press the finished artwork between 2 heavy books overnight to keep leaves from curling up.
• You could also cover pictures with clear contact paper if you wish to preserve them.
• Let your kids know what you plan to do with the leaves when you get home.  You may be surprised by how picky they become when collecting those leaves.  

We really enjoyed making our leaf creatures.  It’s such a fun leaf craft, and the perfect way to use some of those fall leaves we’ve collected on our walks.

You’ll also like:

• Apple Activities for Kids
• Awesome Camp Crafts

This post was originally posted on September 30, 2015.