Autumn Crafts With Natural Materials for Kids of All Ages

The weather is cooler, the leaves are changing, the smell of pumpkin spice wafts from coffee shops. But it's the natural beauty of autumn that truly shines. Take advantage of all the season has to offer and keep kids busy by crafting with natural materials! Check out some of the best ideas for autumn crafts!

In late summer and the early autumn days, take advantage of the last warm rays of sunshine. Have your children collect natural materials during a walk in the woods or an excursion to the park. Chestnuts, acorns, beechnuts, pinecones-- all treasures that little ones love to collect. Colorful autumn leaves are also a popular collector's item. Maple, oak, and chestnut are particularly lovely color combinations, perfect for decorating.

Once you're back from a walk with the kiddos with your collected "treasures:" rocks, twigs, leaves, acorns, pinecones, flowers, etc. Now what? It's time to get to work making creative masterpieces with the kids!

These chestnut figures or acorn figures are fantastic crafts, and they're adorable! With the help, the little ones drill holes in a chestnut or walnut representing the torso. Short pieces of toothpicks or matches, which represent arms and legs, are inserted into the chestnut. Two smaller chestnuts or acorns cut in half can be the feet. An acorn or smaller chestnut forms the head. Add a touch of chic by using an acorn with a cap. A beechnut can also work!

You can craft animals in the same way. Horses or giraffes are also a fun idea! You can use a toothpick or match to create a long neck. Adding googly can give the chestnut figures some extra character.

Toddlers and preschool kids can also create a picture with glue and collected and pressed leaves. Encourage them to think outside the box and create familiar figures from the leaves' shapes! They can create pictures of people, butterflies, pets, anything they can think of! We love this collage from @slowly_we_go.

We love these ideas from Heidi at @twigandberry_homeschool! Start by collecting leaves and pressing them for a few days between books. For the "window," lay out your leaf design on wax paper, then place another piece on top and iron the waxy sides together so they stick. Take some thin, flexible branches (willow and birch work well) and make a "frame" for your luminary by fastening the edges together and secure with a wire. Hot glue your window to the frame, then cut off the edges. Hang them in the window to see the sunlight light up the beautiful colors in the leaves!

For this one, mom and dad will probably have to help. Although, older children may be able to drill the holes themselves with supervision. Thread the nuts on a string (or twine for a rustic look) to create a beautiful chestnut garland. Feel free to incorporate other natural materials you can find!

With a hot glue gun, your child can also glue different natural autumn materials together to create a door wreath. All you'll need to purchase from the craft store is a wreath frame or base. My family likes to make the wreath base ourselves from sturdy grapevines from the garden.

You can use this technique for all other types of paper, especially card making. A designed leaf motif also looks very pretty on invitations to a children's birthday party in autumn.

Keeping a scrapbook is a great way for teenagers to express their thoughts, memories, and emotions. Scrapbooks can also be a great way for teenagers to use their creativity. They can capture memorabilia of a family trip to the national park with laminated autumn leaves, flyers, tickets, and photos. Laminating helps to preserve the leaves, which keeps the scrapbook beautiful.

While rubber stamping is a common scrapbooking method, it also works well with leaves! Start by painting the leaves with watercolors. Then briefly put the leaves on an old newspaper to remove excess color. Afterward, press them firmly onto your scrapbook page. The delicate veins of the leaf leave a cool impression. This is a great way to decorate the background of pages and create a uniquely natural look.

Another idea is to put the autumn leaf under your sheet of paper and then rub it with a colored pencil or crayon. Even young children can enjoy seeing an imprint appear.  Try it on colored paper, too! Then, use a pencil to trace the outline of the leaf.

Crafts with natural materials are a simple yet fun activity for everyone. Do you have craft ideas with natural materials for kids this autumn? Let us know in the comments! Share your ideas and creations with the ones you love on FamilyApp!