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fall

leaves

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nature crafts

craft

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

books

art project

household craft

school supplies

Try some simple stamping techniques using yarn, bubble wrap, or other materials from home. Then dress up your textbooks with custom patterns that will stand out from the crowd.

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Start by covering your textbook! If you already know how to do this, skip to step 5. Start by cutting a piece of paper that is is an extra 2" larger than your book cover. Keep in mind that you need to include the thickness of the book!

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Wrap the side edge of the book by tucking in the extra paper. Make sure the book can close once the paper is tucked into the front and back covers.

When you wrap your book, push your book down, so the spine touches the kraft paper.

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There should be about 1-2" of excess paper on top and bottom of the book. Cut  2 slots that match the folded crease along the binding. Cut out the small tab. Tuck in the top and bottom edge of paper and use tape to secure it. (Make sure you don't tape onto the actual book!). Do the same for the other cover.

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To create your stamps, cut out some cardboard pieces. These will be the bases of your stamps. Use yarn or thick string and wrap the cardboard piece to create a striped pattern. Use tape to secure the yarn on the backside of your cardboard stamp.

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Use a paintbrush to carefully apply some paint onto your stamp. Test out your stamp on a scrap piece of paper before you stamp onto the book cover.

Cover your workspace since paint can get a little messy!

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Cover your text book in any pattern you want! We decided to try a gradient by mixing in more blue each time we stamped.

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Look around the house for other stamping materials! Bubble wrap creates a fun polka dot texture.

cardboard

paper bag / wrapping paper

string

Tape

acrylic paint

Hand-Stamped Book Covers

winter

winter crafts

easy craft

I whipped up this simple, homemade puffy paint and told the kids we were going to make our own creations with "snow."Having fun creating snow? Then let's add some ice! <a href="https://www.kiwico.com/us/store/dp/sensory-sand-shaved-ice-maker/5957" target="_self">Sensory Sand Shaved Ice</a> from the <a href="https://www.kiwico.com/store" target="_self">KiwiCo Store</a> contains everything needed to create an awesome sensory experience!

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To create this homemade "snow" paint, mix one part shaving cream with one part glue. The mixture ends up thick and goopy--and dries up puffy, like snow!

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You could try painting with sponges, paintbrushes, or a spoon. Experiment with the paint and ways to use it. We tried a Q-Tip, but it was too small. My kids preferred glopping on the paint with sponges. 

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The creations just kept coming! Both kids really had fun with this thick, puffy paint. 

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The snow paint is so quick and easy to whip up. It's the perfect texture to create wintery scenes. 

Glue

Shaving Cream

Paper

foam paintbrush/sponge brush

Shaving Cream "Snow" Paint

birthday party crafts

homemade craft

Father’s Day crafts

Mother’s Day crafts

Valentine’s Day crafts

gift

handmade gifts

Mother’s Day gifts

Father's Day gifts

ornaments

These pretty rainbow rocks are perfect for brightening up your desk! With just some nail polish and water, you can transform an ordinary rock into your own marbled paperweight.Want to explore more fun crafts without the hassle of gathering materials? Get hands-on and make visually stunning candles with a <a href="https://www.kiwico.com/us/store/dp/geometric-candles-project-kit/5647" target="_self">Geometric Candles project</a> from the <a href="https://www.kiwico.com/store" target="_self">KiwiCo Store</a>!

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Find an interesting rock outside and clean off the dirt with some water. Once dry, paint the rock white. Allow the first coat of paint to dry, and then apply a second coat. Optional: For fall fun, buy some mini pumpkins to marble! If you can’t find white ones, just buy orange ones and paint them white or leave them orange and see what cool designs you can make!

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Fill a bowl with cold water. Make sure your bowl is deep enough and you have enough water to completely submerge your rock.

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Add one drop of your first color into the bowl. The color will spread out. Then, add another drop of a different color to the center of the first color. Continue to add one drop of color at a time in the center of the previous color. Be quick when adding more colors, nail polish will harden if it sits still for too long. 

Do steps 5 and 6 quickly before your design solidifies.

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Time to create marble designs with your toothpick! 

First create a horizontal line through the colors. Start by poking the center and pulling slowly to the right. Then return to the center and pull slowly to the left.

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Next, make lines from the top to the bottom of the nail polish. For a cool effect, alternate from top to bottom and then from bottom to top.

To prevent the nail polish film from clumping, it helps to start the lines from the second and third rings of your outer colors.

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When you are done marbling the nail polish, dip your rock slowly in the center of your nail polish design. Submerge the rock underwater and then slowly remove it. 


Optional: If you’re dipping a pumpkin, hold the pumpkin by its stem and dip it into the water left side first, then bottom, then right side. Your hand should make the shape of a U in the air as you do this. You can also try dipping it in stem first!

For a clean result, remove excess nail polish with your finger or toothpick before you remove the rock from the water. This will prevent it from sticking to your rock as you pull it out.

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Set your rock or pumpkin to the side to dry. See the immediate and colorful result of your marble design! Now you can enjoy it on your desk or gift it to a friend.

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What else can you marble? Have fun experimenting!

rocks

white paint

paintbrush

nail polish - various colors

bowl

toothpicks

pumpkins - mini

Marbled Paperweight

seasonal

snow

This project is perfect your youngest artists. There is no "right" way for this project to look and the messier it gets, the more adorable the final product will be. My little guys just loved the freedom to paint any way they wanted and create "Frosty" after a day playing in the sun!Looking for ways to keep your young artist busy? Practice art skills and have fun with <a href="https://www.kiwico.com/us/store/dp/draw-grow-planter/5703" target="_self">Draw &amp; Grow Planters</a> from the <a href="https://www.kiwico.com/store" target="_self">KiwiCo Store</a>!

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Gather all materials.  This is a great project that can include as little as construction paper and white paint or as many different craft materials as you like.

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First, I gave each of the kids a piece of blue construction paper and some white paint and let them paint away.  We talked about what a melting snowman would look like and feel like.  My three-year-old tried painting circles, but my two-year-old mostly had fun splashing paint around!

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Then, I cut out a top hat, scarf, and twig arms out of construction paper for my two-year-old.  The older kids could have cut out these shapes for themselves, but they were at school.

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While the paint was still wet, my son put the different pieces of his snowman anywhere he wanted to on his page.

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The end result was a fun abstract painting.  My two and three-year-olds had so much fun and thought the idea of painting a messy, melting snowman was hilarious!

construction paper (blue and various colors)

paint and paintbrushes (white)

Wiggle Eye Set

glue (optional)

Scissors

Melted Snowman Painting

puzzles

game

game design

blocks

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First, gather your supplies.  We used 9 wooden blocks to make our 3x3 puzzle.  You can get these at any crafts store.  Chalkboard paint was such a COOL discovery too! 

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Then, just let your little one loose to paint the cubes.  We painted 5 sides and then painted the bottom after the sides had dried.  

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Note: as with any painting project, you might want to cover your counter/table first.  A little chalkboard paint made its way onto the counter, and it took a little bit of scrubbing to remove.

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Leave the blocks to dry - it took ours about 15 minutes.

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Now, for more fun! Using the chalk, take turns drawing a picture (or a letter or a design) on the blocks.  Shuffle up the blocks, and then let your partner reassemble the puzzle.

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Voila!  You can erase the chalk easily with a damp paper towel and start all over again.

100 fun painting projects for kids

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