Bree here, from Home Zone Furniture.
As the weather cools down, help your kids make the most of the season with plenty of indoor activities. Crafts are a fun way to keep kiddos occupied and out of trouble. Who knows, you might even get a few decorative additions to your home while they’re at it!
Move over pumpkin carving. The following ideas are festive and require less clean up after the fun is over.
Tree Painting
This is a great keepsake project for older kids. Better yet, it isn’t fall-centric, so you can keep it on your wall year-round!
Materials:
4 square canvases of the same size
Paintbrushes
Oil paints
Directions:
- Fit the canvases together to form one large square.
- Draw a tree on the big square so that all four canvases have a piece of the tree on them.
- Assign a season to each of the small canvas squares and paint the tree accordingly.
- Let the painting dry overnight and then hang it for everyone to see!
Styrofoam Owls
Bring fall indoors with these Styrofoam owls. Place the colorful creatures on a windowsill or mantle for an super-cute addition to your seasonal décor.
Materials for one owl:
4-inch Styrofoam ball
2 googly eyes
Felt sheets
Glue gun
Scissors
Directions:
- To keep the owl from rolling around, begin by gently pressing the ball onto a surface to flatten the bottom.
- If you’re not using a template, cut out the following pieces by hand: two concentric circles to layer for the eye shape, a brown triangle for the nose, two triangles folded in half for the ears and about 40 half-inch-wide triangles in different colors to make the feathers.
- Using a hot glue gun, glue down the two concentric circles for the base of the eyes and add the googly eyes on top of that. Put the brown triangle between the two eyes for a nose, and then begin layering the rest of the body with the multicolored feather triangles. Lastly, take two triangles of the same color for the ears, fold them in half and hot glue them to the Styrofoam base.
- Let the owl dry and re-glue any loose pieces before placing the owls throughout your house for a festive fall look.
Faux Stained Glass
Why adorn your windows with store-bought seasonal appliques when you can make your own? Faux stained glass in the shape of a leaf is just what the season calls for!
Materials:
Glue
Tissue paper in fall colors such as red, yellow, orange and green
Waxed paper
Small paintbrush
Fall leaf template
Scissors
Craft paper
Directions:
- Print or draw the leaf template on craft paper.
- Tear the tissue paper into small pieces, the smaller the better.
- Tear off a piece of waxed paper that is double the width of your leaf.
- Paint glue onto a small section of the wax paper then layer the tissue paper pieces on top, the goal is to cover the glue. Continue this process until half of the wax paper is covered in tissue paper.
- Spread a thin layer of glue on the empty half of the wax paper.
- Fold the wax paper in half so that the glued half is in contact with the tissue paper half.
- Cut the leaf shape out of the stained glass, then cut a hollow border of the same leaf shape out of the craft paper and place it on top of the stained glass shape. Tape the paper to a sunny window and enjoy!
Bird Feeder
Attract some avian visitors to your yard with an alluring bird feeder filled with tasty treats.
Materials:
Pinecones
Twine
Peanut butter
Birdseed
Directions:
- Tie a piece of twine to the top of your pinecone. Make the length of twine as long as you’d like it to hang from the tree.
- Use a butter knife to coat the pinecone in peanut butter.
- Roll the peanut butter-coated pinecone in a tray of birdseed.
- Hang the pinecone on your tree—it won’t be long before the birds arrive!
Tin Can Bowling
Kids feeling a little stir-crazy cooped up inside? Keep them active with tin can bowling.
Materials:
6–10 empty tin cans
Paintbrushes
Oil paints
Bouncy ball
Directions:
- Paint the tin cans using a stencil or freehand. Leaves, pumpkins, bats, owls and turkeys are all seasonal favorites.
- Allow the paint to dry overnight and follow up the next day with another coat of paint if necessary.
- To bowl with the tin cans, stack them in a triangle shape and roll a bouncy ball at them from several feet away. Then let the cans fall where they may!
Happy crafting!
Bree
