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Fun for your little artist



Grab some leaves and create a fall themed craft

Fun for your little artist

Do you have a creative kid? Try these two beautiful crafts that will stimulate your child's creativity. Making crafts is a great way to have fun with the whole family. Find these and other wonderful projects for your child in The Budding Artist, with activities in all kinds of media that you'll want to keep or even give as gifts!

Mosaic Flowers
 Create a mosaic design by using small pieces of colored materials to form a picture.  

What You’ll Need
  • Cup
  • Glue
  • Markers
  • Old magazines
  • Old paintbrushes
  • Poster board cut into a 6” square
  • Scissors
  • Water


What to Do
  1. Choose a color or many colors for the mosaic flower you want to create.

  2. Look through the magazines for pictures with shades of that color. When you find the pictures you want, cut them out, and then cut the pictures into small squares. (Ask an adult to help, if you need it.)

  3. Squeeze glue into a cup, then add some water to the glue. Mix together wlel. Spread a coat of glue on the poster board with a paintbrush.

  4. Arrange your color squares on the poster board so they overlap and cover the entire board.

  5. Let the poster board dry completely.

  6. Turn the poster board over. Draw or trace a flower pattern on the reverse side.

  7. Cut of the flower pattern.

  8. Turn the poster board back over, and spread a thin coat of glue over the top of the colored squares.

  9. Let your Mosaic Flower dry.

Try These Ideas
  • Create Mosaic Flower jewelry pins by cutting out several smaller flowers and gluing or taping safety pins to the backs of the flowers. Give the pins as a gift.
  • Attach a pipe cleaner stem and paper leaves to the flower.  
Books to Enjoy

Alison’s Zinnia by Anita Lobel

Colors Everywhere by Tana Hoban

Mosaic Zoo by Barbara Benson Keith

Leaf Bookmarks
 Preserve interesting leaves as bookmarks, and give your creations as gifts.
What You’ll Need
  • Clear contact paper
  • Glue, in a squeeze bottle
  • Hole punch
  • Leaves, ferns, and grasses
  • Thin paintbrushes
  • Thread or yarn
  • Watercolor paints
  • Watercolor paper cut into rectangular bookmark shapes

 

What to Do
  1. Go on a walk, and collect small leaves, ferns, and grasses. Examine what they look like, and see how many different kinds you can find. Which ones are your favorites?

  2. Lay them on newspaper, or press them between the pages of books until the leaves or grasses are dry. This may take a few days.

  3. While waiting for the plants bits to dry, paint the bookmark shapes. You can paint them all one color, in patterns, or use several colors per bookmark–whatever strikes your fancy!

  4. Let the bookmarks dry.

  5. Set out the dried, pressed plants, and glue them on the bookmarks in arrangements of your choice.

  6. Ask an adult to help you cover the bookmarks with clear contact paper. Smooth out the contact paper, and get rid of any lines, bubbles, or bumps.

  7. Use the hole punch to make a hole at the top of each bookmark. If necessary, ask an adult to put her hand over yours to help squeeze the hole punch with enough force.

  8. Loop yarn or thread through the hole, and tie it in a knot to make a tassel.

Books to Enjoy

 Autumn: An Alphabet Acrostic by Steven Schnur

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin, Jr. and John Archambault

Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf by Lois Ehlert

The Seasons of Arnold’s Apple Tree by Gail Gibbons


Material from The Budding Artist, edited by Laura Laxton, ISBN 978-0-87659-384-4, is reprinted with permission from Gryphon House, Inc., P.O. Box 10 Lewisville, NC 27023 (800) 638-0928.