Fall Leaf Patterns

What You Need:

• Fall leaves, freshly collected from outdoors
• Cardboard, 20" x 24"
• Glue
• Tempera paint, autumn colors
• Cookie sheet, that can get paint on it
• Brayer
• Spoons
• White paper, 11" x 14"
• Rolling pin, optional

What You Do:

1. Ask your child to arrange the brightly-colored fall leaves in a design on the cardboard.
2. Once your child has chosen their design, ask them to glue the leaves in place directly on the sheet of cardboard. Allow the glue to dry for at least 1 hour, if not longer.
3. Have your child place a spoonful of paint onto an old cookie sheet.
4. Help them move the brayer over the paint until it is evenly coated over the cookie sheet.
5. They can now roll the paint-coated brayer over the leaves. Your child can experiment using more or less paint for different effects.
6. Have your child place a sheet of paper on top of the leaves, pressing it down with an even pressure. They can even use a clean rolling pin for this part.
7. Help your child slowly peel the white paper up from the leaves. Invite them to admire all the gorgeous textures and details created by the raised veins and shapes of the imprinted leaves.
8. Continue making several prints from this same leaf pattern. Have your child experiment with different color patterns. You can even use multiple colors on one print. What other things can they glue to cardboard to create prints? The possibilities are endless!

Helpful Tip: Fresh, moist leaves are the easiest to work with for printmaking.

Note: While moist fresh leaves work well for this activity, using freshly fallen leaves gives a more eco-friendly spin. Brayers are art rollers and are widely available at art supply stores and school supply stores.