Kid Friendly: Leaf Ornament

While walking around our neighborhood the other day, James and I were admiring and playing in the newly fallen leaves. I started collecting the ones I thought were particularly eye-catching. As I was gathering more and more together, the mini bouquet of reds, greens, and yellows that started to form looked so bright and beautiful, it sparked an idea.

James LOVES being outdoors, and seems to always find a stick to hold while he explores.

James helped me gather some more leaves for our mini bouquet and we headed back home. My initial idea was to make a miniature leaf bouquet in a little vase as a fall decoration. The stems of the leaves were just too small, though, and it didn’t look right in the vase. I still wanted to keep the leaves in this cute little bunch, so instead I grabbed some twine and tied the stems together in a bow…now what?

I chose different leaves in an array of shades for a more colorful look.

What do I do with a cluster of leaves? I want to display it somewhere, but how? I have a cute shelf organizer by our back door that had some lonely hooks to fill, so I tied the ends of the twine together to make a loop and, voila! It’s an ornament! This could easily be upscaled into a larger version, maybe for a wreath or a whole slew of decorative ornaments.

Twine is a crafting staple in our home and can be incorporated into so many different projects.

As the leaves dried over night the ends started to curl inward, but I still love the rustic, autumn effect this simple ornament gives. In spring I’m always bringing in wild flowers and random plants from outside to add some nature to our home. I guess this is my way of doing that in fall.

You can still see the colors poking through, and the curling gives it a rounder shape and makes it even more ornament like.

Having James help me gather leaves was a sweet moment that a lot of families could enjoy, and getting out in nature together adds to the specialness of this easy activity. Literally all you need are some leaves and some string, that’s it. Budget friendly, kid friendly, gets you outside with the family, what more could you ask for?

Happy crafting!

xo Miche

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