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Bring the beauty of fall leaves inside with these homemade jelly decorations.

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Gather your materials.

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Pour 2 tbsp of clear glue into a cupcake liner.

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Add ½ tsp of liquid dish soap.

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Add a drop of red food coloring.

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Stir until combined.

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Make yellow and orange versions.

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Place leaf coloring page inside a plastic bag.

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Paint glue over the leaf shapes.

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Allow painted leaves to dry fully over a few hours.

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Carefully peel dried leaves off plastic.

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Stick leaves on a window or any smooth surface.

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Admire your Jelly Leaves.

We’ve recreated the colors of fall with food coloring, but what do actual leaves use? During the spring and summer, leaves are full of a bright green pigment called chlorophyll, which acts like a tiny solar panel to turn sunlight into food for the tree. But as days grow shorter and nights get chilly in the fall, the tree starts getting ready to sleep for the winter and stops making chlorophyll. As the green chlorophyll breaks down and fades away, hidden pigments called carotenoids—which were inside the leaf all summer long—finally get their chance to shine, revealing brilliant shades of yellow and orange! Some trees even trap extra sugars in their leaves to produce brand-new pigments called anthocyanins, painting the autumn trees in vivid reds and purples.

clear glue

dish soap

food coloring

cupcake liners

stirring stick

paintbrushes

leaf coloring page

plastic gallon bag / large ziplock bag

Jelly Leaves

luminary

homemade craft

easy craft

quick craft

useful craft project

indoor project

Use ping-pong balls to put your own creative spin on a simple light string. Go with simple glowing globes or add details with permanent markers for unique room decor.

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It is important to use LED lights because these do not get hot when used with the ping-pong balls.

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If you have multi-colored ping-pong balls, plan out a pattern for your light string before attaching your ping-pong balls to the LEDs. Make sure you have enough ping-pong balls for the project.

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Take a pair of scissors or an X-Acto knife and carefully puncture a hole into the ping-pong ball. Be very careful not to hurt yourself here! You may need to puncture the hole multiple times to get the hole large enough for the LED to go through. I used scissors to make an "X" slit. My holes were about 1/4-inch, which worked well for attaching and detaching the ping-pong balls. Repeat this step for all the ping-pong balls you plan to use.

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If you'd like, take a permanent marker and draw designs on your ping-pong balls. Let the marker ink dry before you touch them again to avoid smudges.&nbsp;

Draw away from the punctured hole as this portion of the ping-pong ball will be covered by the wires of the LED light string and may cover your designs.

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Once all your ping-pong balls have been punctured, take one ping-pong ball and push the LED light through the hole on the ping-pong ball to attach them to the light string.

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Repeat step 5 for all the ping-pong balls that will go on your LED light string. As mentioned before, I would suggest planning your pattern before attaching the ping-pong balls. I didn't do this and spent extra time taking the ping-pong balls on and off.

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You are done! Now you can show off your glowing light string.

ping-pong balls (enough for the number of lights, and a few extra)

led string light

scissors

permanent markers (e.g. sharpies)

Ping Pong Glow Lights

nature walk

nature

summer crafts

summer fun

art project

Gather up some green leaves and use a roller or press to create natural stamp art. Follow these steps to stamp on canvas, or use the same technique to print lovely leafy cards.&nbsp;

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Gather the materials to make your DIY banner. 

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Start by collecting some of your favorite leaves. Look around your house or campsite to find some different shaped leaves. Remember not to pick them off of trees, only off the ground!

Don't pick the ones that are completely dried out as they will crumble as you try to paint them.

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Cut out several canvas squares, large enough to fit your leaves. You can also try different shapes, such as triangles or a flag shape like we did.

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You may want to cover your work surface for the next few steps. Squeeze some paint into your paint cups or paper plate. Using the spouncer, cover a leaf with an even layer of paint.

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Press the leaf, paint side down, onto the canvas. 

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Lay another piece of scrap canvas over the leaf and use the paint roller to roll over the leaf and transfer the paint. The extra layer of canvas helps to keep the leaf flat and in place as you roll over it.

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Carefully lift the canvas and the leaf. You should have a cool leaf imprint on the flag! If the imprint looks faint, you can experiment with adding a thicker layer of paint or pressing down harder with the roller. Getting the perfect imprint will take a couple tries.Repeat steps 4–6 until you finish all the flags for your banner.

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Once your paint is dry, use glue or tape to attach your flags onto a piece of ribbon. Now you can hang your leaf stamping art anywhere you and enjoy your nature-themed decoration! 

paint

canvas (or cloth)

Scissors

ribbon

hot glue/hot glue gun (or fabric glue)

paint roller

paint cup (or paper plate)

spouncer

Leaf Stamping

Thanksgiving crafts

Thanksgiving

household craft

This year we wanted to make our family's place card holders for Thanksgiving feel festive and fun. Using a folding technique, we were able to create beautiful leaves and created a colorful and unique place card holder for everyone.

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Leaves: First, fold your paper in half vertically, and cut a "U" shape.

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Then accordion fold your paper upwards, and with every fold cut the end with your scissor. 

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Once you are finished folding your paper, open it back up, and cut down the center line. 

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Accordion fold the two pieces of paper up, and glue together to make a leaf shape. You can finesse the shape by creating a mini fan. Tie and glue a piece of string at the bottom of the leaf to create a stem. 

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Stands: Glue one cork to one block. Let it dry. Once dry, paint the cork gold, and the wooden block brown.

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Then glue a paper leaf onto one side of the wooden block. 

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Wire: If you are using wire, ask a grown-up assistant to use wire cutters to cut a 5-inch long strand. Poke the wire or paper clip into the cork. Curl one end into a circle. This will be where you place your notecard.

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Display! Write down the names of the guests at your Thanksgiving table and set up the cardholders.

string

Glue

cork

paint brush

colored paper

Leaf Place Card Holders

recycled

recycled craft materials

gift

handmade gifts

Christmas

Handmade Christmas Gifts & Cards

Christmas crafts

birthday

everyday materials

3 material crafts

I love coming up with the perfect gift for everyone on my list. I put a lot of care into making sure the gifts are personal and thoughtful no matter the size. But for some reason, I have no patience for wrapping the gifts! Lucky for me, I came across a simple idea to make little gifts extra special, and best of all, I already had all the materials (and I bet you do too)! Yes - old toilet paper rolls can make for a perfect little gift. Give your wrapping paper and boxes a break, grab some recycled tubes and some ribbon and get wrapping.Looking for more ways to help your little one create handmade gifts? <a href="https://www.kiwico.com/us/store/dp/animal-bath-bombs-project-kit/2784" target="_self">Animal Bath Bombs</a> from the <a href="https://www.kiwico.com/store" target="_self">KiwiCo Store</a> are the perfect way for your little crafter to dip their toes into bubbly bathtime chemistry!

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Carefully bend in the ends to create half-moon-shaped flaps.

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Open one end of the tube, slip in your gift, and fold it back up again. Decorate it with some festive ribbon or crepe paper to finish your mini gift box. It's the perfect size for small presents or stocking stuffers!

toilet paper tubes

Gift Boxes from Cardboard Rolls

Christmas tree

ornaments

winter

winter crafts

This is a darling handmade ornament that your child will love making and would make a perfect gift for Grandma and Grandpa!Want to explore more hands-on crafts without the hassle of gathering materials? Roll and stamp your way to early math exploration through kid-friendly kitchen play with a <a href="https://www.kiwico.com/us/store/dp/pasta-making-and-shapes-project-kit/4576" target="_self">Fun Dough Pasta Maker</a> from the <a href="https://www.kiwico.com/store" target="_self">KiwiCo Store</a>!

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First mix your flour, salt, and water together. Then knead really well until smooth. If it is too wet or sticky add more flour. 

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Then divide the dough into 2-4 pieces, depending on how many plaques you want to make. Just make sure they are big enough to accommodate the child's foot. Squish them into round plaques about 1/2 inch thick.

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.Now have your child make a foot or hand imprint. If it is not perfect, you can reshape the dough and try again! 

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Then using a pencil I made a hole on the top so that ribbon can go through to hang it as an ornament. Place the plaques on parchment paper and bake in the oven for 3 hours on low heat around 200 degrees F. You may need to adjust the time based on the thickness of your plaque. 

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Once cooled. Use acrylic paint color of your choice and have your child paint them. You can also add glitter if you want. 

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Just loop ribbon through the hole if you want to hang it on the tree!

100 at-home decorations projects for kids

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