How to Make Leaf Ornaments and More

To make leaf ornaments, you’ll need some tree leaves and a batch of salt dough.

Salt dough is a versatile craft staple that has been around for decades. You can use salt dough to make ornaments, gift tags, coasters and more. It only takes a few minutes to make a batch, You’ll need three ingredients that you probably already have in your pantry.

Before you start making leaf ornaments, get your tools ready.

You’ll need a mixing bowl, measuring cups, a biscuit cutter or drinking glass, rolling pin and plastic straws. A silicon mat makes a good surface for rolling out the dough.

Here’s how to make salt dough:

• Preheat your oven to 200 degrees Fahrenheit or to your oven’s lowest setting.
• In a mixing bowl, combine 1 cup of flour, 1/2 cup of salt and a 1/2 cup of warm water.
• Mix with your hands until it forms a dough bowl. Add a little more water if needed.
• Turn the dough out on a nonstick surface sprinkled with flour. Using a rolling pin dusted with flour, roll dough out to 1/2-inch thick.
• Dust the tree leaves with flour. Lay each leaf on the dough with the vein side down.
• Use the rolling pin to press the leaf into the dough. Carefully remove the leaves.
• Dip a biscuit cutter or drinking glass in flour. Use it to cut out a circular shape around each leaf. Then use a table knife to trim the excess dough around the leaf. A biscuit cutter or glass may not be big enough for the larger leaves, so use the knife to cut away the dough. For circular ornaments, don’t trim any excess dough.
• After your leaves have been cut, use the plastic straw to make a hole for at the top of each ornament..
• Bake leaf ornaments in oven for an hour.
• Allow leaf ornaments to cool thoroughly. Thread twine or a thin ribbon through the hole in each ornament. Tie a knot in the twine or ribbon to make a loop for hanging the ornament.

Tip: You can use a marker to write names or dates on the back of the ornaments.

Here’s a craft idea your little ones will gobble up. You can find the pine cones you need outside or at a craft store. You’ll also need acrylic craft paint, a paint brush, a cup of water, pom poms, googly eyes, red felt, orange felt and craft glue.

• Cover the table with craft paper. Fill a disposable paint tray with acrylic paint in different fall colors.
• Using an art brush, paint the pine cone scales. Use one color at a time. Wash out your paint brush between colors. Once the paint is dry, add the turkey’s head.
• To make the turkey’s head, glue googly eyes on a pom pom.
  Cut a beak from the orange felt and a turkey waddle from the red felt.
  Glue the beak and waddle to the pom pom head. Glue the head to the pine cone.

Tip: Use a pine cone turkey as a nameplace holder at your next fall get-together.

Carving pumpkins is an autumn tradition. Make this classic fall activity even more fun and less messy with an artful twist on a pumpkin patch. You’ll need felt in white, brown, orange, red, green, black and other fall colors. Make sure you have scissors, cardboard or scrap plyboard and spray adhesive.

• Spray the cardboard with the spray adhesive. Do this in a well-ventilated area or outside.
• Lay the white felt on the board. Press and smooth it out with your hands. Cut the excess fabric off with scissors.
• Cut pumpkin shapes from the orange felt. Press onto the white felt board.
• Cut out noses, eyes, teeth, mouths and eyebrows from the other colors.
• Give the pumpkins scary looks, fun faces or goofy expressions. See the video above for more ideas.