Fall Craft Projects Your Kids Will Love

My kids love to craft. I have a 3 year-old boy and a 4.5 year-old girl and crafting is something we do a lot. My 3 year-old boy is finally starting to show a ton of interest in it.  He now joins my daughter in her hours of crafting. It wasn’t always that way. In the past, he made it through one project, maybe two, and then he was bored. Not anymore, he wants to do anything his big sis does ….. and I LOVE it. Something about children’s artwork makes me a little emotional. It’s always been that way for me, but even more so now that I have children of my own. I love watching them learn and concentrate.  I love seeing what they will come up with.   I love seeing the joy in their eyes when their project is finally completed. They are so proud and it makes me a bit teary eyed.

We’ve been crafting up a storm lately and it has been perfect. After a super busy summer of traveling, swimming, riding bikes, playing ball, swinging, sliding, running, jumping etc., it’s kind of nice to hibernate in the house every now and then, especially on a cold, rainy, fall day. It feels so cozy, laid-back and relaxed.  I am going to show you some of our favorite fall projects that we have been working on, but first, I’ll show you some of my favorite basic supplies.  Even if you have just a few supplies, (mine have accumulated over time) your kids will be able to create quite a few things!

• Plastic Place Mats (one for each crafter)

These are not necessary, but I would never craft without them. They clean up easily and it prevents any glue, marker, paint, crayon etc. from getting on my table. You can see this one is a bit marked up. I don’t mind at all, that is the whole point. Mark up my placemat, but please don’t mark up my table. I found these at Target, I believe they were $1.99 each.

•  Construction Paper

I use to purchase my construction paper from a dollar store, but we would go through the packets fast. We would also use the colors fast, since there were not too many sheets of each. For example, since we are in the fall season, all of the orange would be completely gone by now! I found a massive package of construction paper at Sam’s Club and it was an awesome buy! 672 sheets for $11.74. I was sold! I also found these amazing cardboard storage files at Target for $1.00 each. They work perfectly to hold all of our construction paper. I only bought 2 and I wish I bought a handful. I could find many uses for them! I found them in the $1.00 section and they are sold out at both of the Targets in my area. I am hoping they get more soon!

• An Assortment Of Crayons

I bought a couple of different boxes of crayons and transferred them into a closeable container. It’s easier for the kids to see all of the colors and the cardboard crayon boxes usually end up tearing after a few uses anyway. You can usually find of box of 64 Crayola crayons for about $5.00. They last a very long time! I usually buy crayons from an arts and crafts store when they are on sale or I can use a 50% off coupon. Every little bit of savings helps!

• Washable Markers

I only use Washable Markers, especially with a 3 year-old and a 4 year-old. They are amazing. There are many times that my plastic placemats have been covered in marker. It wipes right off with a damp cloth like magic. It makes me feel better to have washable markers in case any color ever gets on my furniture, walls, or floor. It hasn’t happened yet, but you never know. You can buy a package of 8 Washable Crayola Markers for around $5.00, but this is another item I usually buy from an arts and crafts store. I either buy them on sale or use a 50% off coupon.

 

• Scissors For Kids

The green pair of scissors with the plastic guard are recommended for 3 years-old and up. The purple and red scissors without the plastic guard are recommended for 4 years-old and up. You can usually find kid friendly scissors for around $1.00 per pair.

 

• Washable Glue Sticks

I only use washable glue sticks and these are my favorite. They are made by Elmer’s and I love them because they go on purple, so kids can see how much glue they are using and where it is, but it dries clear. Pretty nifty! I always buy a package of 6 for around $2.29! I like to have them on hand. Most of the craft projects we do involve glue!

Let the fun begin! Lets take a look at some of our Favorite Fall Craft Projects:

 

• Construction Paper Pumpkins

Love these. They are simple, but oh so fun for the kids. All you need is construction paper, scissors and a glue stick. You can cut the shapes out for your children or let them try on their own. There have been many times I cut out shapes in mass quantities. I scatter them on the table and hand my kids a glue stick.  My kids sit for a good hour creating their pumpkins. It gives me time to get some laundry done or lunch/dinner made etc. It’s heaven! 😉

• Construction Paper Owls

All you need is construction paper, scissors, a glue stick and a marker. You can get creative and use any color of paper that you would like. I took a sheet of orange and brown construction paper, laid them on top of each other and cut them into strips. Then I cut a bunch of different rectangles. It’s better if none of them are the same size.  I used brown construction paper to create  a tree branch and glued it to the bottom of black construction paper. Then, I outlined the shape of an owl with a white crayon.  I handed my kids a glue stick and they went to work. Once the shape of the owl was filled with the tiny rectangles, we created eyes, a beak and feet. We glued on craft store eyes (you can find them at any craft store. You get about 96 eyes for around $3.00), but this isn’t necessary. You could use a marker too. We outlined the beak and feet with a marker so they were a little more noticeable. This is a good one. It’s a little time consuming, but mama’s need a “time consuming” break every now and then. Ahem.

Let’s take a closer look!

Aren’t they adorable?!

• Handprint Owls

You will need construction paper, scissors, glue and a crayon or marker. We used fingerpaint to make the hand print. If you don’t have fingerpaint, you can also use a marker to trace the handprints on. This one is quick, but cute. I love having a handprint for documentation. This is one I will be keeping, because as I’ve said before, we can’t keep them all. Holy Batman it accumulates fast!!

 

• Fingerpainting

Fingerpaint was not on my basic supply list. You can purchase 4 tubes of Washable Crayola Fingerpaint for around $6.00, but this is another item I buy from an arts and crafts store when it is on sale or I have a 50% off coupon. This is one of my favorite projects to watch unfold. I never have a say in it and I love that. It is so fun to watch my kids create using their imagination.

• Leaf Turkeys

Leaf Projects are by far one of my favorites. I love spending time outside with my kids collecting leaves. I give each of my children their own bag and as they pick up each leaf, you would think they just discovered a diamond. Every. Single. Time. “oooohhhh, look at this one, it’s so red. oooohhh, this one is so pretty” My kids have a way of teaching me to really stop and take time to appreciate the simple things. I LOVE that!!

For this project we used a paper plate, construction paper, scissors, a glue stick, craft store eyes (a marker works too) and a very treasured leaf collection. I cut the construction paper shapes out and my kids did the rest. These lil’ turkeys make me laugh out loud. They are so cute!!

Let’s take a closer look!

I cannot wait to do this one again once some of our bigger leaves fall. I am even more excited to tell my kids “Lets go collect some leaves so we can make more turkeys” Happy squeals will definitely be heard!

• Acrylic Painted Puppies

You will need construction paper, a crayon, acrylic paint, a paint brush and markers. I let my kids pick out a color of construction paper. Then, with a white crayon, I traced the outline of a puppy. I gave each of them a paper cup and poured a little bit of acrylic paint in it. I always buy inexpensive acrylic paint. You can usually find it for under $1.00 per bottle. My kids filled in the puppy outline with paint and once it was dry, they added features with a marker. I sat and did one with them, so they could follow along.

Lets take a look at the process!

And here are the masterpieces. This is when I get a little choked up. This was created by my 3 year-old boy. Melts my heart!!

And this one was created by my 4 year old girl. Again teary eyed! So precious!! How did she grow up so fast?

• Coffee Filter Turkeys

This one is a 2 day project. You will need coffee filters, washable markers, scissors, construction paper and a glue stick. Give each of your kids a coffee filter and have them color it with washable markers. This is when a plastic placemat will really come in handy. Some of the marker will probably leak through.

Next, fold the coffee filter 3 times.

Next, (this is for the adults, it would be too messy for the young kids) run the tip of the coffee filter under water until the filter absorbs water all the way to the end.

Once the entire filter has absorbed water, pinch the end to remove any excess.

Carefully, open up the filter and lay flat to dry on a couple of paper towels. Your kids will probably be amazed at the difference.

Once the filters are dry, we usually wait one day, have your children glue them to a piece of construction paper. From there, they can start creating their turkeys. We used craft store eyes, but you can always just use a marker if you don’t have any on hand. Let’s watch the magic unfold.

Here are the finished turkeys! They make my children giggle and they make me smile!

• Foam Boards and Stickers

I always try to have a set of foam boards and stickers for each season. They are a low maintenance project and I can pull them out in a split second if I need to buy a little of time. You can find them anywhere. Meijer, Target or any arts and crafts store to name just a few places.

I ended up scoring a couple of deals at Target this week. All of the foam boards/stickers were half off! Only $2.50 each! Such a great deal! I happily snatched them up.

They have kits too, which are awesome!

And there you go! I hope this gives you a few fall craft  ideas and that you and your children have fun. If you give any of these a try, I would love to hear from you to see what you think.  If you would like to share photos of your children’s work, feel free to post them on my Facebook Page. I would love to see them. Also, if you have any craft ideas that you would like to share, you can comment below this blog post.

If you are looking for more fun craft ideas, check out my other 2 crafting posts: {Crafting with Kids} Fall Leaf Wreaths and Crafting with my Kids.

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Until next time, happy crafting with kids!!

Colette

I was not compensated to review any of the crafting products mentioned above.  As always, my opinions are my own.