3 Easy Steps for Home-Made Leaf Wreath

Thursday, November 1, 2012

3 Easy Steps for Home-Made Leaf Wreath

I love trees, but I never can believe just how many leaves fall from those beautiful trees. And I can't ever believe how long it takes to clean them all up. I keep telling myself it's good exercise.

Anyway, during clean-up this year, the kids started collecting their favorites. They like the ones that have a special shape or color so I went and got a bag to collect them. Ever since then, we have kept our eyes out for leaves when we go on walks and we have spent several weeks collecting our most favorite leaves from around the neighborhood. I really wanted them to be able to create a wreath for us, but it turns out that the idea of a leaf wreath is much easier said than done. After much trial and error, here is how the kids created a wreath that they could do all by themselves:

1. I bought a letter "O" from Hobby Lobby to use as the starting point. There are many different options for wreaths and this isn't exactly what I originally envisioned, but I didn't want to have to use a hot glue gun. I really wanted them to be able to create this all by themselves and this turned out to be the best surface for glueing those delicate but heavy leaves.

2. Next, I was able to give them Elmer's Glue. They simply took the leaves and glued them to the wooden "O". They were able to glue leaves on top of leaves over and over again. They really loved this whole process. They got to pick out their favorites it took them over 30 minutes to get all the leaves attached:

3. After we let it dry for a few days, we simply took down a picture and hung it up! Originally it was supposed to go on the front door, but the Elmer's Glue isn't the strongest bonding agent around, and I didn't think the wind would do nice things to this delicate kid-made masterpiece. This isn't the prettiest wreath around, and certainly doesn't look professionally made, but the kids are very proud of their wreath!

For more ideas on projects and games to keep your kids busy, please check out my new book, The Happy Mommy Handbook: The Ultimate How-to Guide on Keeping Your Toddlers and Preschoolers Busy, Out of Trouble and Motivated to Learn. It is packed full of information about keeping kids busy, but in productive ways, so that they still have the opportunity to learn while you are stuck doing the dishes! Here is one of the reviews from Amazon:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is a "Must Have" book!!!, July 9, 2012

Kim Jenson -

This is truly a fantastic book! I was shocked at how many activities the authors came up with - many of which didn't even require a trip to the store for supplies! The Mom who wrote this has great stories & the Teacher has valuable experiences...it's a perfect blend of unique insight. Fun (inexpensive) activities that keep my 2 kids away from the TV, what more can you ask for?!?!? This book is really helping me become a better Mom - Thank you!

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4 comments:

Mommy BagsNovember 2, 2012 at 7:15 AM
Your friggin amaze me sometimes......
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UnknownNovember 7, 2012 at 8:40 AM
Calling All Bloggers – Fun Family Thanksgiving Crafts + Ideas Wanted!! Thanksgiving is just around the corner. And as any parent, we’re looking for terrific Thanksgiving crafts and ideas for the kiddos. Add a link to your craft idea on your blog. Here's the link to share and get more traffic to your site… http://thesensoryspectrumblog.com/2012/11/04/calling-all-bloggers-fun-family-thanksgiving-crafts-ideas-wanted/
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UnknownNovember 7, 2012 at 8:40 AM
Calling All Bloggers – Fun Family Thanksgiving Crafts + Ideas Wanted!! Thanksgiving is just around the corner. And as any parent, we’re looking for terrific Thanksgiving crafts and ideas for the kiddos. Add a link to your craft idea on your blog. Here's the link to share and get more traffic to your site… http://thesensoryspectrumblog.com/2012/11/04/calling-all-bloggers-fun-family-thanksgiving-crafts-ideas-wanted/
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Thursday, November 1, 2012