Fall leaves aren’t just for raking. Those colorful leaves on the ground are free craft supplies waiting to become turtles, fish, mice, turkeys, or whatever else your kids can dream up. These leaf crafts for kids use real autumn leaves to make nature art that’s simple, seasonal, and endlessly creative.
Materials
- Colorful fall leaves (different shapes, sizes, and colors)
- Glue (white glue or glue stick)
- Paper
- Markers or colored pencils
- Wax paper and a heavy book (for pressing leaves flat)
- Scissors (optional)
- Googly eyes (optional)
Don’t have fall leaves yet? Collect them on a walk and press them between sheets of wax paper inside a heavy book overnight. They’ll be flat, dry, and ready to use by the next day. In a hurry? Iron leaves between wax paper sheets on low heat for instant pressing (grownup job).
Tips
- For younger kids (ages 3-5): Pre-press and pre-cut the leaves. Let them focus on gluing and drawing faces.
- For older kids (ages 7+): Challenge them to create a whole scene, like a forest with leaf animals, or to use only natural materials (no markers, just leaves, twigs, and seeds).
- Group activity: Spread a big pile of pressed leaves on a table and let each kid make their own animal. Great for fall birthday parties or classroom projects.
- Preservation: Spray finished crafts with clear acrylic sealer or cover with clear contact paper to keep leaves from crumbling.
- Year-round option: Press flowers in spring and summer for the same technique with different materials.
Craft 1: Leaf Mouse
These adorable mice use oval-shaped leaves for bodies and are easy enough for the youngest crafters.
- Collect oval leaves. Look for leaves that are already mouse-body-shaped, or trim larger leaves into ovals with scissors.
- Glue leaves to paper. Arrange one or more leaves on a sheet of paper to make mouse bodies. Glue them down and let dry.
- Add details. Glue on googly eyes or use markers to add tiny round ears, dot eyes, a pink nose, whiskers, and a long curly tail.
- Add a scene. Draw a forest floor or a cozy mouse hole around your leaf mice.
Challenge: How many different mice can you make from your leaf pile? Try different leaf shapes and sizes for a whole mouse family.
Craft 2: Leafy Turkey
This classic fall craft combines a handprint with real leaves for a Thanksgiving turkey that pops off the page.
- Trace your hand. Place your hand on a sheet of paper and trace around it with a marker.
- Draw the turkey. Turn the handprint so the fingers point up (these will be the tail feathers). Draw an eye and a beak on the thumb. Add two stick legs at the bottom.
- Glue on leaf feathers. Glue long, colorful leaves over the finger outlines to create a bright, layered tail. The more colors, the better!
- Add a wing. Glue a small, round leaf to the palm area for the turkey’s wing.
- Let it dry. Give the glue time to set before displaying.
Craft 3: Leaf Animals (Free-Form)
Once kids have the idea, let them go wild. Almost any animal can be made from leaves:
- Butterfly: Two matching leaves spread open like wings, with a twig body
- Owl: A round leaf body, two small round leaves for eyes, pointed leaf ears
- Fish: An oval leaf body with small leaf fins and a forked leaf tail
- Hedgehog: A half-circle leaf body with spiky leaves fanning out as quills
- Lion: A round leaf face surrounded by a mane of smaller leaves
The only limit is what’s in the leaf pile!
Grownup help needed: Scissors for trimming leaves (younger kids). The ironing method for pressing leaves. Everything else is kid-safe.
