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The Dream is Free, The Hustle Sold Separately

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‘Falling Leaves’ Watercolor Kids Craft

September 27, 2016 by Bethany Sy

When it comes to kids crafts, I struggle to come up with creative and engaging ideas for our kids to participate in. The twins (age 5) are super creative on their own and are very good at coming up with their own fun, but I do have some guilt for not coordinating messy, colorful, and crafty kids projects!

BUT! Luckily, my mom is an art teacher. She and I are creative in VERY different ways… which is awesome! As a birthday gift for the twins, she sends them a new craft (including all supplies and instructions) each month. This is a brilliant idea. And the girls look forward to getting their package in the mail each month.

So, with her permission, I decided I’m going to start sharing these cute little craft ideas with you all each and every month! A bit of a ‘series’ if you will. Because I’m sure there are other moms out there that could use some inspiration for keeping their kids busy and creative.

Fun watercolor craft idea for kids... using black glue, watercolor paint, and salt!! {Reality Daydream}

Watercolor ‘Falling Leaves’ Kids Craft

Supplies:

  • Cardstock
  • Pencil
  • Variety of leaves from your yard
  • Black acrylic paint
  • Bottle of Elmer’s Glue (half used preferably)
  • Watercolor paints
  • Paintbrushes
  • Table salt

 

For this project, send your kids out into the yard to find 3-4 leaves in a variety of shapes and sizes.

Cute kids craft using leaves as inspiration! {Reality Daydream}

Have them arrange the leaves on their paper the way they want them, then have them hold a leaf still with one hand while tracing around it with the other hand.

Kids nature craft using leaves, glue, and watercolor paint! {Reality Daydream}

Then grab half-full bottle of Elmer’s glue and squirt in a glob of black acrylic paint. Shake well, and let them apply a thin line of glue to cover where they traced. You can even encourage them to add some ‘veins’ to the leaves!

Falling leaves kids craft idea {Reality Daydream}

This part with the glue might be difficult for some younger kids. My 5-year-olds did pretty good, but there were some places with some serious globbing. THAT’S OK! It’s just part of what makes it unique to them! I have to force myself to think of it as woodgrain with knots. It’s just part of the character.

Kids nature craft using leaves, glue and watercolors! {Reality Daydream}

After letting the glue dry completely, we got out the watercolors and had a little discussion about complimentary colors. I showed them the color wheel and explained how colors on the opposite sides of the color wheel ‘compliment’ each other and help make each other stand out! So they agreed that they wanted to do the leaves in red / orange / yellow color scheme. And save green / blue / purple for the background!

Watercolor kids craft... using fallen leaves from nature as inspiration! {Reality Daydream}

Watercolor kids craft using glue and leaves from nature! {Reality Daydream}

Once they finished their red / orange / yellow leaves, we let them dry before coming back in and doing the background. You’ll see why in a second!

Sprinkle some salt onto wet watercolor art, and it makes a really neat effect! {Reality Daydream}

While the background was still swirly and wet, the girls sprinkled on a light dusting of salt! You read that right… like table salt. It has such a cool effect on the way the watercolor paints dry, leaving this ‘sparkly texture’ as the girls call it. So fun!

Watercolor craft for kids... sprinkling salt onto the wet watercolor makes a fun effect! {Reality Daydream}

The girls loooooved how their ‘Falling Leaves’ craft turned out, and I basically loved it too. So colorful and unique to each child!

'Falling Leaves' Watercolor Kids Craft Idea {Reality Daydream}

The girls are constantly taping their drawings and paintings on the wall for all of us to enjoy throughout the house. And as darling as that is, I would rather have it in a frame in a designated place. I found this amazing ‘Kids Artwork Frame’ on Amazon. I loved that it had two openings (but there are also options for 1 or 3), and it’s soooo simple to just slide pictures in and out! They can be displayed vertically or horizontally too!

Kids art and craft ideas, and a darling way to display them! {Reality Daydream}

I also love that they can display ‘3D art’, and there’s lots of room behind to store previous drawings until you have a chance to sit down and go through the ones you want to keep (while they’re at school of course). When there’s just a single piece of paper in a slot, it’s a little loose, so I just fold a piece of bubble wrap in half and slide it behind the artwork so it pushes it to the front. Make sense?

If you’ve read this far into my post, chances are you have small children and might enjoy some of these other posts from our archives! Click on the image below to be directed to that post:

Rotating marker caddy using PVC pipes and a lazy susan! {Reality Daydream}Easy and Portable Kids' Coloring Tablet! {Reality Daydream}
Fascinating-perspective-from-a-mama-that-experienced-BOTH-as-a-child-Reality-Daydream-682x1024Brilliant-storage-and-organization-ideas-for-kids-closets-and-nursery-closets-Reality-Daydreamquiet-books-etsy-shop

 

 

Thanks for pinning!! <3

Fun Watercolor Kids Craft... inspired by real leaves from your yard! {Reality Daydream}

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About Bethany Sy

Nick and Bethany Sy are the creative free-spirits behind DIY/Lifestyle blog, Reality Daydream. They recently purchased a historic mansion and have been documenting the ups and downs of renovation and making this home their own... all while sharing tips and tutorials along the way! When they found themselves in the trenches of infertility, they started a journey that would prove to be their most important DIY project ever, and have 3 beautiful girls to show for it. <3

« Custom Cedar Mailbox Stand {with Corbels!}
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Comments

  1. 6

    Michelle Marine says

    October 10, 2016 at 1:09 pm

    So very cute, Beth. We will do this craft! <3

    Reply
  2. 7

    Ashley Sevick says

    October 4, 2016 at 6:47 pm

    Ah geez. I checked it out after I hit submit. Seems like my art knowledge is failing me and you were totally right! Please delete my previous comment. I do love this craft, though!

    Reply
  3. 8

    Ashley Sevick says

    October 4, 2016 at 6:45 pm

    Love this craft! Super cute and I love your idea of sharing ideas with us each month. Looking forward to it! I did want to clarify, colors on the opposite ends of the color wheel are contrasting colors. Complimentary colors are next to each other on the color wheel. No judgment, and I’m not trying to be a know-it-all. It’s clear you are teaching your girls about the color wheel and I thought you’d probably want to get it right. Maybe I’ll have some motivation to try this with my son. I know he’d love it!

    Reply
  4. 9

    Julie@followyourheart says

    October 2, 2016 at 5:53 pm

    Your girls are quite the artists, lovely paintings!

    Reply
  5. 10

    Karen Sandlin says

    September 27, 2016 at 3:46 pm

    Beth – absolutely love this craft! It’s not only for 5 year olds, but I believe any age above that. What fun! can’t wait to try it with the grandkids. Thanks to you and your mom for sharing this.

    Reply
  6. 11

    Medina Grillo says

    September 27, 2016 at 3:09 pm

    This looks like so much fun! I think I might try it with my son

    Reply

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We are Nick and Bethany! Welcome to our blog, Reality Daydream where we share our DIY adventures!

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