Nature Embellished Owl

PROJECT OVERVIEW:
To print out the owl listed in Supply List and decorate it with natural items found on a nature hunt.

SUPPLY LIST:
- download your FREE owl.pdf
- 1 sheet letter sized paper
- 1 sheet of cardboard or card stock that is larger than letter size
- glue (Elmer's or Tacky)
- scissors
- crayon, marker and or colored pencils
- pine cones, small twigs, pine needles, acorns, leaves & other small natural elements to decorate your owl

DIRECTIONS:
1) Download your FREE owl.pdf and print on a letter sheet of paper.

2) Glue the owl printout onto a thicker backing such as cardboard. Lay a heavy book on top of this so it dries flat w/out any wrinkles. (set aside to dry)

3) Go outside on a nature walk and collect pine cones, leaves, twigs and other items to decorate your owl.

4) Bring your items inside. Color your owl with crayon, marker and or colored pencil.

5) Then add natural embellishments to your owl by gluing them down on top of the paper.

6) Decorate your entire owl with natural elements, trying to decorate him with as much nature as you can!

7) Set aside to dry. Then hang up for some lovely Fall decor!

Leaf Stencil Squares

PROJECT OVERVIEW: For preschool on up
Study the DIFFERENT shapes of Fall leaves and create art using each leaf as a stencil to trace its shape. This project also studies different 2d textures such as: print, solid color, patterns and pictures.

SUPPLY LIST:
- 4, 8"x8" squares of brown grocery bags (measure and cut the squares from a bag)
- 4, different shaped leaves (the leaf should fill up the majority of your 8" squares, aim for about 5" sized leaves) NOTE: Avoid multiple leaves on a stem, just use single leaf shapes)
- pencil
- scissors
- ruler
- glue or tape
- The following four different scrap (keyword) papers all need to be about an inch larger than each leaf, so about a 7" square). Again, try to use scrap-type papers:
1) - 1 sheet scrap paper with PRINT (newspaper or magazine prints will work best)
2) - 1 sheet scrap paper with mostly SOLID COLOR (can have some different colors or texture but should be mostly solid)
3) - 1 sheet scrap paper with a PATTERN (think polka-dots, plaid, stripes, or random shapes like clouds or balloons).
4) - 1 sheet scrap paper with a PICTURE (could be a scrap photo, illustration, painting, etc) NOTE: let the picture get cropped into your leaf stencil, we don't want the whole picture to be perfectly fit into leaf, rather it should look like it is bleeding off)

DIRECTIONS:
1) Find 4 different shaped leaves (the leaf should fill up the majority of your 8" squares, aim for about 5" sized leaves) NOTE: Avoid multiple leaves on a stem, just use single leaf shapes. Press in book if they need to be flattened some.

2) Cut and measure 4, 8" squares from brown grocery bags. Set aside.

3) Lightly trace in pencil the....
a) outline of leaf #1 on the center of your scrap PRINT paper.
b) outline of leaf #2 on the center of your scrap SOLID COLOR paper.
c) outline of leaf #3 on the center of your scrap PATTERNED paper.
d) outline of leaf #4 on the center of your scrap PICTURE paper.

4) Carefully cut the leaf shapes out of each paper piece (so that you end up with 4 leaves in the different paper types).

5) Apply a thin layer of glue to the back side of each leaf cutout. Adhere ONE leaf cutout to the center of each brown paper square. Press firmly and lay book on top so the cutouts dry flat.

6) Once dried, decorate your room for Fall with these pieces or make a book... its up to you! Go a step further and identify each leaf, and label the leaves with their tree :)

Quilted-Collage American Flag

PROJECT OVERVIEW:
Create an American Flag in a quilted-style using paper scraps from (magazines, mail, scrap drawer, etc). Kids will use the paper pieces as if they were quilt sections. Patch them together on a letter sized piece of paper, glue down and then use permanent black marker to create a stitch-effect (making the flag look like it was sewn together like a quilt).

The quilted style is to symbolize our country's history, representing unity/togetherness and the melting-pot of our citizens.

This project works great as individual or group art. Classrooms and large groups might try this on a large sheet of paper or cardboard to cover an entire wall!

SUPPLY LIST:
- letter sized sheet of card stock or card board
- scrap papers from: magazines, junk mail, newspaper, etc.
- pencil
- scissors
- glue
- black permanent marker

DIRECTIONS:
1) Find a piece of white card stock or heavy white paper to create your flag on. TIP: Cream paper would create an antique-style flag.

2) Lightly draw a flag on your card stock. Kids might want to do an abbreviated version of the flag since it might be hard to include all 50 stars and 13 stripes. NOTE: Kids can be creative with the number of stars and stripes they use. Emphasize the importance of having a red strip on top and bottom (white stripes on the outside will get dirty faster).

3) Find red and blue scrap paper pieces to form your flag with. The white sections = the white of the paper, but kids can use white paper for the star/s if they choose. Cut the pieces out with scissors and sort into a red and blue pile. NOTE: there will be a variety of blues and reds creating the flag. Consider using red/blue sections that have patterns so that it will look like fabric. Avoid using colored sections with text, solid color blocks or color patterns will work best.

4) Glue the pieces down on flag, in quilt-like sections. Start with red stripes first, then the blue section.

5) Let glued pieces dry.

6) Use permanent marker to create a stitch effect at the seam of each quilt section (the seam of each paper piece). TIP: If the flag was done as a group, consider having each kid sign their name or write a short message about America. 

7) Hang up and enjoy!

A Dozen Months of Fun

PROJECT OVERVIEW:
Use an empty egg carton to create a carton to hold 12 fun things to do, one for each month. For example: go camping.... or build a tree house.

Each compartment in the egg carton will hold a little strip of paper with something fun to do written on it. Then, at the beginning of every month, pull out the slip and do what the paper says!

SUPPLY LIST:
- empty egg carton (make sure it's clean)
- glue or tape
- marker, pen, etc.
- card stock (can be from a recycled material as well)
- scrap paper/construction paper (consider recycling junk mail, unused magazines, newspapers, etc)
- miscellaneous embellishments: yarn, buttons, glitter, confetti, stickers, beads, ribbon, etc.

DIRECTIONS:
1) Cover the top of an empty (clean) egg carton with scrap papers/construction paper. Use junk mail, old magazines, newspapers, etc. when possible. Consider making fun shapes and overlapping to create a unique design, but leave room for the title of this little game, "A Dozen Months of Fun." Decorate the inside if you like.

2) Add "A Dozen Months of Fun" to the top. Do this however you like: with marker, stencils, stickers, paint, cut paper, etc. *One cute "green" idea might be cutting out the letters from old printed materials to form "A Dozen Dinner Topics," then glue to the top of carton.

3) Embellish your carton more with fun/colorful designs formed from: yarn, buttons, glitter, confetti, stickers, beads, ribbon, etc.

4) Create 12 fun things to do for each month. Brainstorm with a parent or sibling so that the whole family will enjoy. Cut 12 small strips of paper (any type), roughly 2"wide x 1/2"high and write a different fun idea per strip.

5) Once your carton is dry and ready to fill, place one fun strip in each compartment... filling all 12. *Fold the strips to fit nicely in each spot.

6) At the beginning of every month, pull out the fun strip and do what the paper says!

Mother's Day (Yogurt Container) Seed Pots

These precious little seed cups make a great gift for Mom... any day, or for Mother's Day!

SUPPLY LIST:
- empty yogurt-sized containers (mini or regular size)
- popsicle sticks (one for each yogurt container)
- dirt (just enough to fill each cup)
- flower seeds or small annual plants
- glue or tape
- sisors
- acrylic paint
- embellishments (scrap paper, rhinestones, glitter, ribbon, buttons, beads, glitter-glue, confetti, stickers, etc)
- empty 2-liter bottle (*optional to create mini green house)

DIRECTIONS:
1) Wash out an empty yogurt-sized container and dry thoroughly.

2) Paint the container using acrylic paint, set aside to dry.

3) Embellish the container with (scrap papers, rhinestones, glitter, ribbon, buttons, beads, glitter-glue, confetti, stickers, etc). *If your container has a plastic lid, consider decorating to use as dish underneath pot.

4) Set decorated pot aside to dry.

5) Fill pot with potting soil.

6) Plant either seeds or small annual flowers and water.

7) Use a popsicle stick (or something similar) to label what you have planted, and stick in pot.

8) *Place decorated lid beneath pot (to act as dish).

9) Give Potted plant to Mom for Mother's Day! :)

DESIGN SUGGESTIONS:
- Explore patterns when embellishing your pots.
- Create a spring-theme (bunnies, flowers, bugs, butterflies, etc).
- Write a Mother's Day message on your pot.
- Use the empty seed packet you planted as an embellishment on your pot!

(Grocery Bag) Valentine Mobile

This Valentines craft is easy to make and the mobiles look beautiful hanging in groups (such as in a classroom).

SUPPLY LIST:
- brown grocery bags (2)
- 3 plastic bags
- stapler
- yarn (roughly 2 feet)
- construction paper
- glue or tape
- glitter & glue -or- glitter pens/paint

STEPS:
1) Cut 2 heart shapes out of a brown paper bag, using the first as a template to create the second. Lineup the hearts and staple the bottom/sides together (leaving the top open). Use a plastic bag as stuffing in the brown paper heart. Make sure the entire plastic bag is inside heart shape and staple the top shut forming a "pillow."
*Repeat step #1 twice to form 3 heart pillows. The three hearts can be all the same size or different.

2) Using your stapler, attach the three hearts with yarn. Form a loop at the top of first heart.

3) Decorate your hearts using construction paper shapes in varying colors. Use glue or tape to adhere your construction shapes to hearts. Be creative! We used: polk-a-dots, hearts and lips.

4) Add a glittery shine to your heart mobile with glitter & glue, or glitter markers/sticks.

5) Lay your mobile out on flat surface to dry.

6) Once the front of mobile is dry, flip over and repeat steps 3-5.

Still having fun? You don't have to stop here! Look around for fun items to embellish your mobile with! These make great classroom decorations or gifts!