Autumn Leaf Plaques

This craft was inspired by a jewellery workshop I participated in during the summer in which we made pendants and earrings using a form of porcelain clay. 

One of the ideas we were encouraged to try involved pressing plant materials into the clay, then colouring the impressions with under glaze paints. The pieces were later glazed and fired for us.

For the purposes of our craft, firing was not going to be a possibility, neither would painting the pieces once dry. It needed to be an all-in-one process. So we came up with the idea of using leaf stamps, to make plaques like these:

Just like the jewellery project, this craft proved extremely popular.

Leaf Plaque

We used air dry clay for our project. I would imagine that salt dough clay could also be used, but it would require a little baking.

Equipment:

• air dry clay (we used white, but you can also buy coloured clay, although this is likely to be more expensive)

• poster paint/plastic trays/sponges

• leaf stamps (or you could use natural leaves)

• rolling pins

• paper plates or small piece of card

• pens (to label paper plates with names)

• cutters - ours was 10 cm diameter (optional)

• ribbon

• drinking straws (cut in half)

• scissors (to cut ribbon)

• PVA glue to act as a 'varnish' & brush to apply

We used these leaf stamps*

Preparation:

In advance:

• order/buy clay 

• order/buy leaf stamps (or gather leaves, you need to dry them a bit before use, but not too dry, or they will become brittle and fall apart)

• cut ribbon into short lengths

• cut a few drinking straws in half (these will be used to make a nice clean hole in the top of the plaques)

On the day:

• pour poster paint onto sponges and work into the sponge, so that it isn't just a blob on top, then place in a plastic tray. I provided just two colours: yellow ochre and brown.

Soaking the paint into the sponges helps to prevent blobby prints

• roll lumps of clay into small balls

• make an example, to show the children, before they begin

Here's the 'one I made earlier'

Method:

1. Help children into paint overalls.

2. Give each child a paper plate, ball of clay and a rolling pin. The paper plate will be used to roll out the clay, but also to take home the finished piece. This avoids making too much mess on the table, but also avoids lifting the clay plaque before it has dried, which could lead to the plaque becoming deformed. A small piece of card could be used as an alternative.

3. Children roll out clay. A round cutter can be used to make a distinct shape, or it can be left as a 'free' shape, which also looks quite visually appealing. Excess clay can be peeled off from around the edge, once the cutter has been pressed in firmly. 

This plaque is a 'free' shape. No cutter used. 

This plaque has been cut to shape with a round cutter.

4. Children make their designs, by pushing collected leaves or leaf stamps into the paint, then into the clay. As you can see from the illustrations, some used more than one stamp, creating various effects.

Another 'free' shape.

 5. Children press the end of the drinking straw into the top of the plaque, to make a hole for the ribbon, which may or may not need to be threaded by an adult. Some of the older children may be able to do this completely by themselves.

6. Write the child's name on the edge of the paper plate, on which the children will take their leaf plaques home to dry.

7. Place the paper plates on the 'home' table, until the end of the session, then use baby wipes to clean up. It is important to be thorough when cleaning up clay, as tiny dry clay particles aren't great for you, when breathed in.

8. If parents and children are returning the next week, you may wish to provide PVA to 'varnish' over the clay, or to quickly varnish them yourself, for them to pick up the following week, although this is not entirely necessary.


*We sourced ours from Baker Ross. We are not affiliated to Baker Ross in any way. We do not profit by mentioning them. Baker Ross are mentioned merely to assist sourcing of materials.

Autumn Wreath

I don't know about you, but I love seeing art 'in progress'. 

There are so many decisions to be made; over colours and composition. I love watching little ones working this out for themselves. Sometimes the art produced is not what you had in mind, but its all part of the learning process for those little brains, eyes and hands. 

This particular craft created so much opportunity for taking pictures, I couldn't help myself. I hope you enjoy them too, as I take you through this simple and effective craft. It was another one of 'those' that the parents loved straight away. It was inspired by our Holly Wreath craft from last Christmas, and was just as fun to make.

Focus on the process

Equipment:

• Paper Plates

• Leaves cut from light card in various autumnal hues

• Autumn Leaf shapes (bought pre-cuts)

• Ribbon

• Scissors

• Sellotape

• Poster paint in autumnal hues

• PVA/pots/glue spreaders

• Paint trays

• Paintbrushes

• Painting Overalls/shirts

• Wet wipes

Preparation:

1. Buy pre-cut leaves* and/or cut leaves from light card stock. We had a mix of both, to keep costs down, but you could use all card, or all bought.

2. Cut out centre of paper plates.

3. On the day, when setting up, mix poster paints with one at least third PVA, so you can stick leaves directly onto the paint. We gave the children a choice of a mustard yellow or brown, to paint onto the wreath.

4. Cut short lengths of ribbon for hanging, and stick them to the back of the cardboard circle shape, using sellotape.

5. Make an 'example' so the children can see what you're aiming for.

Easy craft for little ones

Method:

1. Make sure each child is wearing an overall and has sleeves rolled up before they start. This one is going to be messy!

2. Give each child a card circle and help them to write their name on the back (you can do this at the end, but it will be a lot more messy).

3. Show the children how to apply the paint to the card circle and then to stick leaves on to the paint.

4. As the children begin to layer leaves, they may have difficulty making some to stick, this is where the pots of glue and spreaders come in to play.

5. Once the child is finished, place the wreath to dry and clean up. At this stage it is advisable to clean the child's place before the next child comes along, otherwise their work well may stick to the table.

A completed wreath

*We got our leaves from The Works (£1 a packet). You can also buy them at The Range. We are not affiliated to these stores, but mention them purely to aid sourcing. There may be other places that also stock them.

Holly Christmas Wreaths

It's the first of December and Christmas has truly begun! This is when my Christmas decorations go up, one of the first being a Wreath on the door. I love a good wreath! I often have them inside my house as well as out. This one hangs in my hallway:

At toddler group this week, we made these cute little wreaths. Obviously not the kind you put outside the door, as they'd soon disintegrate in the rain! 

The mums and tots absolutely loved them! 

I could show you a picture perfect version, but this is the work of one of our tots!

Of course, they're made with a craft staple of ours, the good old paper plate! 

Equipment:

• Paper Plates/Scissors
• Tissue paper light green & dark green
• Holly and Berry shapes (see below for stockists)
• Ribbon/Sellotape
• PVA glue/spreaders
• Baby wipes

Preparation:

This craft involves a bit of prep. First you need to order/make your Holly shapes. Then you need to cut out the centre of your paper plates. You also need to rough cut up two shades of green tissue paper. you could use just one colour, but two adds a nice touch of light and shade. Also, cut Short lengths of ribbon for hanging and final touches.

Here's 'the one we made earlier'!

We usually make a 'here's one we made earlier' to help the mums and tots see what we are trying to achieve and of course we lay out materials on the day.

Method:

1. Cover the paper plate rim with glue. If using PVA, it needs to be spread thinly, or you will end up with a gloopy mess, that takes a while to dry!

2. Layer a mix of dark and light green tissue paper over the glue.

3. Add holly leaves and berries. We aimed for about 6-8 Holly leaves per plate. 

4. Add a loop of ribbon to the back of the wreath (at the top) with selloptape. This will enable the wreath to be hung up.

5. Add two pieces of ribbon to the bottom of the wreath, for a nice finishing touch.


*The Holly Stickers came from Baker Ross. They also make larger cardboard holly shapes, but these look a little more expensive. You can, of course, cut your own, if you prefer!

Baker Ross actually make a Wreath Foam Blank, which is probably easier than cutting out loads of paper plates, but it's nice to create something with more of a home made touch.


Please note: any links to or mentions of specific materials are purely to aid sourcing, no earnings are made via these links.

Potato Print Autumn Trees

Starting point

Who can fail to be stunned by the colours of the trees as their colours turn in the Autumn?

At Playgroup we recently placed a collection of leaves in a builder's tray for the children to touch and play with. Admittedly some some of the leaves we used were fake, as we can't always find the perfect leaves just when we want them!

Then we did some potato print trees reflecting the colours we could see.

Equipment

Autumn Leaves
A4 Paper with photocopied tree shape
Paper plates for holding the paint
Poster Paint of various autumnal hues
Potatoes cut into half, with leaf veins gouged out in advance
Baby Wipes
Paint Overalls

Preparation

1. Draw a tree shape onto A4 paper and photocopy as many as you need.

2. Cut smallish potatoes in half and gouge a simple leaf vein pattern into each half.

3. Pour poster paint onto paper plates, ready for the children to use.

Prepared for business

Method

1. First roll up sleeves and dress children in paint overalls.

2. Demonstrate to children how to dip potatoes in paint and print to make patterns. Note that it may be best to blot the paint slightly before actually printing, as otherwise the veins may become blurred over.

3. Allow children to experiment with printing/colours as they wish. They may well wish to do more than one!

Hey Presto!

The results may not be 'perfect' but each one is a work of art!