Turning over a new leaf
Autumn is absolutely my favourite time of year.
If you’ve followed my blogs posts for a while, you may have noticed my annual Autumn rave before. I can’t help it! As a Victorian I’m naturally a compulsive ‘noticer of weather’, and I love to mark the changing seasons that shape our year.
I reckon there’s something particularly inspiring and uplifting about this time of year, when colours in nature seem to brighten just before they fade into a winter palette, and the afternoons become washed in a dreamy golden haze.
Autumn leaves are like little treasures: I love to watch them change and fall, I love to collect them in all shapes and sizes, and I love to use them in craft with children.
If you use our search button (top right) you can scroll back through previous posts to find lots of Autumn craft ideas: from painting and printing with leaves, to adding them to a forest crown, or squishing them into an Autumn window.
Today’s Autumn activity couldn’t be easier.
Collect some leaves (Autumnal or otherwise) on your next wander and bring them home.
Scatter them onto a sheet of paper, provide a texta, crayon or pastel, and draw shapes and marks to transform the simple leaf shape into something else completely.
You might find a gluestick handy to stop them moving on the page… although sometimes this very movement is part of the fun.
To get the ball rolling scroll through this post to see some simple and sweet designs to create bugs and birds. These will hopefully spark some beginnings, and once your little artist gets started there will be no shortage of new and even brighter ideas.
We had a lovely morning with a little artist friend who transformed leaves into all sorts of inspired drawings. My favourite moment was when he drew (then painted) a birthday cake with candles and we added yellow leaves to the top as flames. How fun it was to sing Happy Birthday and watch him blow those leafy flames out and across the table!
What will you and your little artist come up with when you turn over a new leaf and get crafty together?
Have fun x
Blowing out the candles!
