Got leaves? You’ll need a few for this one – which makes it a perfect fall activity. We gathered our leaves one afternoon on a nature walk around the neighborhood. We took our time choosing as many different shapes, sizes and colors as we could find.
Head outside with a small bag in hand and gather up as many leaves as you can find (the kind already on the ground, that is!). Dry, brittle leaves work best. If your leaves are wet, dry them completely before beginning your mosaic.
Of course, we completed our entire project outside in our front yard, which keeps the mess fun. This one involves only a few simple steps:
- Close up your bag of leaves & get crushing. This was The Explorers’ favorite part! They loved stomping on their bags. We used plastic Ziploc bags to make sure the leaves didn’t come flying out during crushing. You may need to use your hands to pound on the bag a bit, too, if stomping alone doesn’t do the trick. Set your leaves aside.
- On a piece of construction paper, draw a picture. I was hoping the kids would go for a pumpkin or maybe a turkey. Instead, they opted for flying machines (that’s The Big Explorer’s rendition of the Space Shuttle Endeavor above). Go figure.
- Place glue where you want the crushed leaves to be in your drawing. We decided to use our leaves as an outline, but you could fill your entire design with leaves, too.
- Sprinkle on the crushed leaves. Don’t be afraid to add more than you think you’ll need.
- Shake off the excess leaves. Enjoy your one-of-a-kind piece of fall nature art!
Let's be honest; it's all about the stomping!
Cute idea! We've done lots of leaf art, but not with crushed leaves. That just makes it so much more fun.
Thank you!
Thanks for stopping by, Elise! :-0
What a lovely idea.xxxxx
This is very cool! I love using nature yo make art!<br /><br />Thanks for leaving such nice comments over at my blog earlier.
Yes! Leaf glitter – I love it!
This is awesome… like leaf glitter!