Fall is a fun and festive time for crafting. Celebrate the harvest season with immersive, hands-on art projects for kids. Grab your sweaters for outdoor crafts and lovies for indoor art projects! This eco-friendly list for kids uses household items and art supplies you already have at home. Make the most of chilly days or create an artistic project for a fall celebration. From cute toys to adorable décor, you’ll find crafts to captivate children of all ages.
1.Cute Pine Cone Animals
Make use of the pine cones falling in your neighborhood! Adorable pine cone animals will bring smiles to your entire household. The first step is to prepare the pine cones for crafting using a water and vinegar mixture. Once you’re done with this process, you can gather craft supplies at home.
Look for materials to dress your pine cones, like googly eyes and pom poms. You can even use felt, yarn or pipe cleaners. A hot glue gun or bottle of craft glue will help you fix cute faces and outfits onto your woodland creatures, like hedgehogs, owls or turkeys.
2.Harvest Paper Plate Pumpkins
Make your own gourds! You only need paper plates, orange paint, glue and green paper. Line a table with a protective tablecloth and grab your painting supplies.
Use bright orange paint to color the pumpkin and then cut out a green paper stem. Glue the stem to the top to create your masterpiece. Add faces or artistic details to the pumpkin’s surface with black, yellow or white paint.
3.‘Celebrate Fall’ Leaf Rubbings
Admire Mother Nature’s beauty, enjoy the brisk air and participate in an early childhood science activity of categorizing leaves. You only need crayons and paper from your home to do leaf rubbings. Dress your child in comfy fall clothes, like soft bamboo sweatshirts and toddler pants. Then, take your materials outside and look for various leaves in your backyard, at a local park or walking around your neighborhood.
Place the leaves under a sheet of paper and rub crayons over the top to reveal leaf patterns. Your kids will marvel at the “magic” they’ve created with the help of their community trees! Take the leaf rubbings home and display them on the refrigerator with a magnet.
4.Paper Bag Scarecrows
Grab a few paper bags to make scarecrows. Gather disposable lunch bags, markers and a few different colors of construction paper. You’ll also need glue or glue sticks. Draw a face on the paper bag and use construction paper to make a hat. Straw can make your scarecrow come to life, but you can also use strips of construction paper to make hair and other details for the outfit.
5.Autumn Leaf Crowns
Transform a backyard nature hunt into a quest for an autumn leaf crown! For this interactive craft, you’ll need to gather leaves from outside. Put on the baby and toddler hoodies for a brisk walk in the fresh air. Then, head to the art room or kitchen for string and a roll of tape. Tape or tie the leaves together to create a crown. If you prefer a more substantial base, use construction paper to make your crown and glue leaves to the sides of it.
6.Pumpkin Seed Mosaics
If you don’t plan on eating all the seeds from your pumpkin carving session, you can save the leftovers for a mosaic project. You will need paint, glue and cardboard. Choose a few paints in fall colors, such as red, orange or brown. Paint the pumpkin seeds and then press them onto the cardboard to make a mosaic-style art piece.
Another idea is to paint the trunk of a tree on a cardboard sheet or card stock paper and then use the pumpkin seeds to create mosaic-style leaves. Alternate colors like burgundy and yellow to create a dazzling design.
7.Toilet Paper Roll Owls
This eco-friendly project is also adorable! Gather toilet paper rolls and construction paper. Select your favorite type of glue and then choose from paint or markers. Decorate the outside of the cardboard roll with fall colors. Next, glue paper wings, eyes and a beak to make a curious owl.
8.Fall Yarn Wrapped Sticks
This craft is perfect for small children embarking on their first craft sessions. Grab sticks from the yard and then find some yarn in fall colors like orange and brown. Let your children wrap yarn around the sticks in different patterns and colors. You’ll love the look of this colorful fall decoration that your kids can use for playing outside!
9.Festive Fall Garlands
Create beautiful fall décor using leaves from outside, or construction paper leaves you cut out at home. Punch a hole at the top of your leaves and then string them together to design your garland. These art pieces look impressive hanging in the playroom or on the fireplace mantel. You can even use them as a beautiful decoration for a family gathering or holiday dinner!
10.Cinnamon Stick Bundles
Looking for a craft you can whip up in minutes? Head to your kitchen pantry. Find a jar of cinnamon sticks and yarn or ribbon in fall colors. Let your kids help you tie the cinnamon sticks together with an autumn-colored tie. Add your fragrant fall craft to a dish, tie it inside the home or give a decorative gift to a friend.
11.Painted Rock Pumpkins
Kids love rock painting, and smooth pebbles are perfect for drawing jack-o’-lantern faces. Gather small rocks, orange paint and markers. Paint the stones orange and then draw faces and pumpkin stems with markers. Hide them around the yard for a fun fall scavenger hunt.
12.Pumpkin and Apple Stamp Art
Discover the wonders of nature with a pumpkin and apple stamp art project. Grab an apple from your kitchen, a paint set and printer paper. You’ll also need extra decorative pieces for later, like sequins or extra paint colors.
Take the apple and cut it in half. Dip the sliced side of the apple in orange paint and then stamp it onto a piece of paper. Using paint, add a green stem. Once it dries, you can add decorations like faces or glitter. Your kids will love how one of their favorite fruits can become a harvest gourd to decorate and admire.
Celebrate Fall with Fun Household Crafts
One of the best parts about crafting is how much you can do with items you have at home. Make the most of leftover school supplies and pantry staples while keeping your kids learning and engaged throughout the season. These crafts will give everyone in your household a new appreciation for autumn and eco-friendly art projects. As a parent, you’ll also love that it’s a chance for fall fun and family bonding.
