Leaf Crafts

 by  Amy Notarius  Rowan Public Library

Fall is the time to check out the leaf crafts in the children’s book Look What I Did With a Leaf! by Morteza Sohi, available at Rowan Public Library.   Sohi uses leaves of different shapes, colors, and sizes to design leaf animals.  Sohi shows you how to make everything from a mouse to a lion out of different types of leaves.  He begins with photographs describing the different shapes and sizes of leaves, from round or fan-shaped to wavy-edged or pointed.  Sohi describes how to collect and prepare the leaves for the leaf animal projects, and then lists the other materials you will need. 

He even includes information about the life cycle of a leaf and a field guide to identifying different leaves, so there is a lot to learn while you’re having fun creating your leaf animals! 

Crafty T-Shirts by Petra Boase shows children how to create a fun item they can wear.  Boase begins with an illustrated glossary of materials you will need, including fabric paints, paintbrushes, fabric glue, and tracing paper. Then she offers tips on using fabric paints and explains how to make and use templates and stencils.  Boase provides illustrated step-by-step directions for each t-shirt. The t-shirt designs are fun and unique, ranging from crazy spirals to outer space and sea life themes. 

In Easy Bead Crafts in 5 Steps Anna Llimos shows children how to create jewelry and other items with beads. In addition to necklaces, bracelets, and rings, Llimos uses clay and beads to produce a great-looking peacock. She also shows how to make a bookmark, a belt, flowers, and more.  These illustrated projects have clear and simple directions that are easy to follow. 

An adult’s help may be needed for certain parts of the projects described in each book. Get creative with these and other great craft resources available from Rowan Public Library.