Since I teach a couple children’s Bible classes each week, and those classes frequently involve doing something crafty, I decided to start including some of our creations in my blog.
This morning’s craft was leaf rubbings with a bit of a twist. The leaf rubbings I’ve seen in the past were all done under a single sheet of paper. I found that you get a more realistic looking leaf by doing the rubbing on construction paper and cutting it out.
This craft is best for kids over 6. Younger children can do it, but they don’t quite understand that you have to keep the crayon on its side. I had an eight year old girl, a nine year old by and a three year old girl this morning. This kept the older two busy for more than a half hour. The three year old lost interest after about 10 minutes.
You will need:
- Lots of leaves from different kinds of trees
- Scraps of construction paper in fall colors. The scraps should be a little larger than the leaves.
- crayons in fall colors
- tape
- glue
- white paper for the background. The verse I used is Daniel 2:20, 21a
- 9 x 12 Construction paper to mat the finished picture.
Instructions:
- Tape a leaf to a scrap of construction paper (the construction paper should be bigger than the leaf). This will keep it from moving around. You don’t have to use a lot of tape, just a couple small pieces should be fine. Make sure you tape the leaf so that the side with the veins is against the paper.
- Flip the paper over so the leaf is underneath it.
- Lay a crayon flat on its side and rub it over the paper with the leaf under it. As you color, the veins and edges of the leaf will show up.
- Remove the leaf from the back of the paper and cut your colored leaf out.
- Crumple the paper leaf up, then flatten it out.
- Repeat until you have seven or eight leaves
- Glue the leaves to the background paper. I find it looks more realistic if you only put glue down the center of the leaf and leave the outer edges unattached.
- Mat your leaf picture on a piece of construction paper.
