Autumn

Autumn Leaf Suncatchers

This craft is one of my favourites because it uses the most toddler-friendly approach to collage. It can be a bit fiddly to set up but the outcome is worth it.

This is what you’ll need:

• Contact paper
• Red, orange, and yellow tissue paper
• Black card
• Pencil
• Scissors
• Sticky tape

1. Draw a leaf shape on the black card and cut it out. Cut out the middle so that you’re left with a thick-ish black border. Put to one side.
2. Cut two pieces of contact paper the same size. Remove the backing from one of the pieces and lay it flat on a table sticky-side up. Secure it with strips of sticky tape on the corners.
3. Carefully lay your black leaf border on the contact paper.
4. Cut your tissue paper into different sized squares and let your Little stick them inside the leaf shape.
5. Once they are satisfied and the majority of the space inside the leaf is covered, carefully remove the backing on the other piece of contact paper and carefully place it on top of the complete leaf.
6. Cut around the outside of your leaf and fix to a window. Ta-da!

Autumn Crown

Who doesn’t love a crown? Also, this craft is perfect if you aren’t sure what to do with leaves picked up on Autumn walks.

This is what you’ll need:

• A strip of card long enough to be wrapped around a little head
• A variety of different coloured leaves
• Glue/double-sided tape
• Stapler

1. Place double-sided tape along the strip of card or allow your Little to apply glue directly to the card.
2. Carefully place your leaves on the card. You could challenge older ones with placing the leaves in size order or giving them a pattern of colours to follow.
3. Once the glue has dried, staple the strip of card to form a crown.
4. Crown your Little the King/Queen of Autumn.

Fingerprint Leaf Tree

Letting Hope experiment with paint is a fantastic way of allowing her to be creative and to learn as she goes. However sometimes we both need (ok, I need) something a bit more structured. This finger-painting is the perfect Autumn painting project.

This is what you’ll need:

• White card
• Brown crayon
• Red, orange, and yellow paint

1. On a piece of white card, draw the outline of a tree with lots of branches using your brown crayon.
2. Show your little how to dip their finger into the paint and then spot it onto the branches of the tree and the ground beneath it.
3. Leave the paint to dry and then proudly display it.

Autumn Tealight Jar

My husband and I could easily open our own pumpkin-scented candle emporium with the amount of candles we purchase at this time of the year. We are slightly obsessed. There is something so magical about candlelight and this little craft creates the most beautiful Autumn ambience.

This is what you’ll need:

• Small, clean glass jar minus any labels
• Red, orange, and yellow tissue paper
• Black card
• Pencil
• Scissors
• PVA glue
• Paintbrush

1. Cut the tissue paper in different sized squares and place to one side.
2. Draw a silhouette shape on your black card and cut out. We did a bat as Hope is into all things “spooky” at the moment, but trees, leaves, spiders, pumpkin, mushrooms etc all work really well.
3. Coat the inside of the glass jar with PVA glue.
4. Stick your silhouette shape onto the inside of the jar and then stick your tissue paper squares to cover the inside of the jar. It doesn’t have to be perfectly flat and covered so let your Little go wild.
5. Allow to dry.
6. Place a tealight inside the jar and enjoy the pretty light it casts.

Any questions or pointers, just message me @bornforblueskies on Instagram.

Jumping into piles of crunchy leaves. Nature walks. Mushroom hunts. Toadstool fairy houses. Pumpkin carving. Snuggle up and enjoy all that this beautiful season has to offer.

Until next time,

Stace x