20 EASY Leaf Crafts for Kids (2023)

Looking for some leaf crafts for kids?

I have 20 fun leaf crafts that your kids will LOVE! These are fun, easy and perfect to do in the classroom or right at home.

Let’s get started with some leaf crafts!

#1: Coffee Filter Leaves

Coffee filter crafts are just awesome! This leaf craft turns out so pretty and can even be used as decor around the house.

Leaves are the perfect fall craft for kids to create! They will have a blast just scribbling on filters.

How to do this activity

A. Materials you need

Coffee filters
markers
scissors
a pencil
FREE leaf template (optional)
spray bottle
art trays

CLICK HERE for your FREE Coffee Filter Leaf Template

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B. Set-up

Scribble on the coffee filters using markers! Then, use a squirt bottle of water to wet the filter (place on an art tray for easy clean up).

C. Activity

Use my free template to trace leaf shapes on the filters when they are dry. Then, cut them out! You can even use these as decor around the house for the fall!

#2: Leaf Print Art

This is a must-try leaf craft for kids this fall season. The prints turn out absolutely beautiful!

Your kids will love searching for leaves outside for this project. Have them look for different shapes and sizes of leaves.

How to do this activity

A. Materials you need

leaves
washable paint
cardstock paper
art tray
paint tray
paintbrush

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B. Set-up

Grab some leaves from outside! Try to search for leaves that don’t have any holes in them. This will make the prints turn out the best.

C. Activity

The kids will paint the leaves. They can use whatever colors they like. We chose to use rainbow colors!

They will paint the side of the leaf with the ridges so they show up on the paper.

Flip the leaf over and make sure to press down on the entire leaf to make the whole print show up. Slowly lift it up, so make sure it doesn’t get smudged.

Check out your amazing leaf prints! This is such a beautiful leaf craft.

#3: Leaf Salt Painting

Salt painting is such a fun process art activity. This leaf craft turns out so beautiful!

The kids love watching the watercolors flow through the salt.

How to do this activity

A. Materials you need

salt
glue
cardstock paper
watercolor paints

B. Set-up

Draw leaf shapes on cardstock paper with a pencil.

C. Activity

Outline the pencil marks in school glue. Then, sprinkle salt all over the glue.

Place an art tray underneath the paper so the mess is controlled. Dump the extra salt.

Use watercolor paints to paint the leaves! We also painted the inside of the leaves, which turned out really pretty.

You can paint the salt right away, or you can wait for the glue to dry. This is more of a process art activity than a keepsake.

To keep it as long as you can, you can place the sheet in a sheet protector and hang it up.

#4: Black Glue Leaf Craft

Making your own black glue is easy and fun! The kids love seeing the white glue turn black.

This leaf craft is fun and easy. I love the end result.

How to do this activity

A. Materials you need

cardstock paper
glue
black acrylic paint
watercolors
hair dryer (optional)

B. Set-up

Use a half-empty bottle of Elmer’s school glue and squirt a bunch of black acrylic paint in. I never measure; I just eyeball it and shake it up. You can always add more paint if you need to!

C. Activity

Draw the leaf shapes on your cardstock paper. Then, outline them in black glue.

One hack I have for you is to use a hair dryer to dry the black glue. You could also leave it overnight to paint for the next day.

Then, use watercolor paints to paint inside the leaves. How pretty does this leaf craft turn out?

#5: Fingerprint Fall Tree

This is an adorable lead craft for kids. I love seeing the kids little fingerprints and handprints in crafts.

It’s the perfect keepsake. We all know we can’t keep all the crafts the kids make, so the special ones make the cut. This is one of them!

How to do this activity

A. Materials you need

cardstock paper
washable paint
construction paper
scissors
glue stick

B. Set-up

Have your little one place their arm on a brown piece of construction paper. Trace their hand and lower arm for the trunk.

Then, cut out the trunk and paste it to white paper!

C. Activity

Add a little brown, yellow, orange, and red paint to a paint tray. Then, have the kids dip their finger in one color and make prints around the trunk.

They will repeat this process for every color you have to make a tree!

This is such an adorable, easy and fun fall craft for kids.

#6: Leaf Hedgehog Craft

Here is a really fun leaf craft for kids! I love getting the kids outside to grab some leaves to create art with.

We did this one a little before the leaves started to turn colors, so we painted some. You can paint them or wait till the leaves turn colors and use them just the way they are.

How to do this activity

A. Materials you need

leaves
paint(optional)
construction paper
googly eyes
markers
pencil

B. Set-up

Head outside and have the kids grab some leaves. Then, draw and cut out a hedgehog shape on construction paper.

C. Activity

If you are painting the leaves, have the kids start to paint them! We used acrylic paint so they would dry quickly.

Once the leaves are dry, have the kids use school glue to paste the leaves onto the hedgehog’s back for the spikes!

This is a great craft for an animal-themed fall activity.

#7: Leaf Fall Tree Craft

Here’s another fun way to make a fall tree. The kids will love trying this leaf craft because they can use leaves to make their own tree.

The kids love going to collect the leaves. They also love revealing the prints.

How to do this activity

A. Materials you need

paper
marker
washable paint
leaves

B. Set-up

Draw a tree trunk using a brown marker and fill it in. Then, go collect leaves from outside. Try to choose the same kind of leaves for this activity so it looks the same.

C. Activity

Have the kids paint the leaves and make prints around the tree trunk. I suggest starting from the bottom to make the prints and work your way up around the tree.

We used washable paint for this activity but you can also use acrylic paint.

The kids will love seeing the prints that the leaves make on the paper. This is such a simple and fun fall craft!

#8: Magic Leaf Art

This leaf craft is fun, colorful, and magical! Kids will love watching the leaves pop up while they are painting.

Checking out the prints, too, is super cool. I love seeing all the markings of the leaves.

How to do this activity

A. Materials you need

white paper
watercolors
paintbrush
water
art tray
white crayon
leaves
masking tape

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B. Set-up

Head outside to grab a bunch of leaves. Have the kids search for different sizes and shapes of leaves.

C. Activity

Use masking tape to tape the leaves down on a white sheet of paper. Make sure to have the smooth part of the leaf facing down on the paper so the markings will show up.

Place another piece of paper on top of the leaves. Then, use a white crayon to trace over the leaves. Press down pretty hard on the crayon to make sure it’s bold enough to show through when the kids paint.

Have the kids use watercolors to paint over the white crayon marks you made! They can use one color or different colors like you see how we did above.

They will love revealing the leaf shapes!

#9: Pasta Owl Craft

Pasta crafts are fun for the kids to do! They always turn so cute and colorful.

These owls are perfect for a fall craft! They turn out adorable.

How to do this activity

A. Materials you need

cardstock paper
bow tie pasta
leaves
acrylic paint
paintbrush
googly eyes
glue
art tray
parchment paper

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B. Set-up

Head outside and grab some leaves for the kids to paint! Then, the kids will head inside and paint the leaves. If it’s fall time and the leaves are already colored, you can skip this part!

Line an art tray with parchment paper. Then, have the kids start painting the bow tie pasta. Since there aren’t that many, they can paint them individually.

If you want it to go a little faster, add the pasta to a ziplock bag, add some acrylic paint inside, and shake. You will dump it out to dry, but there will be spots that need to be handpainted due to the shape of the pasta.

C. Activity

Create an owl shape out of cardstock or construction paper. Also, create a beak and feet and have the kids paste them on!

Once the leaves and bow tie pasta are dry, have the kids use school glue to paste these items on!

It takes about 30 minutes for the acrylic paint to fully dry.

Lastly, add on googly eyes and check out your cute owl craft!

#10: FREE Fall Color by Code

This color-by-code fall craft is a fun way for kids to work on numbers!

My son loves the color-by-code printables SO much! They are by far his favorite learning activity.

How to do this activity

A. Materials you need

Color by Code sheets
crayons
markers

Click HERE for your FREE Fall Color by Code

B. Set-up

Print off the sheets that you want to use!

C. Activity

Make sure your child understands how to read the key at the top of the page. Then, they will color each number in the picture based on what the key says.

These are my kid’s favorite out of all the printables I create. They love revealing the picture at the end!

#11: Fork Printed Tree Craft

Making fall tree crafts are my favorite during fall time! You are going to see multiple ways to create trees in this article.

This leaf craft is adorable, easy, and perfect for kids!

How to do this activity

A. Materials you need

cardstock paper
markers
washable paint
forks

B. Set-up

Draw a tree trunk using a brown marker and color it in.

C. Activity

Have the kids paint the forks and make prints all around the tree! We used red, orange, yellow, and brown paint!

They can also make some prints at the bottom of the page to look like fallen leaves.

This is a cute and simple fall craft that is PERFECT for toddlers and preschoolers.

#12: Handprint Leaf Wreath

How cute are these handprint leaves? I can’t get enough of handprint crafts. They make perfect fall decor too!

This leaf craft is perfect to hang up in the classroom too, if you are a teacher!

How to do this activity

A. Materials you need

cardstock paper
acrylic paint
acrylic paint marker
scissors
hot glue
paper plate

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B. Set-up

Paint your little one’s hand red, orange, yellow or green, and have them make a print on white cardstock paper.

Make sure to press down on the entire hand to make sure the print shows all the way up.

C. Activity

Wait for the handprint to dry. This should only take about 15 minutes to dry!

Use an acrylic paint marker to make the markings on the leaves!

Create your own fall wreath with their handprints! Use a pencil to poke a hole through a paper plate and cut out the center. Then, paste the handprints all around the paper plate! I would use a gluestick to attach the hands or a small amount of hot glue.

#13: Lion Leaf Craft

Making fun crafts out of leaves is just so fun for fall. There are so many possibilities!

This leaf craft is fun to make, and it’s so pretty! Make your own lions out of leaves.

How to do this activity

A. Materials you need

cardboard
leaves
acrylic paint
tape or hot glue
paint brush
box cutter

B. Set-up

Create a circle shape on cardboard and use a box cutter to cut it out. We just traced a bowl we have to make sure it was a perfect circle shape!

Have the kids head outside to grab some leaves. We collected the same leaves so they all looked the same for the mane.

C. Activity

If you have colored leaves, you can just use those, or you can paint them if they are green! We decided to try both options, and I honestly love both.

When you paint the leaves, use acrylic paint because the color will turn out bolder. It will also dry quickly! While you are waiting for the leaves to dry, you can make the face for the lion.

Then, once the leaves are dry, you can either tape them on the back or an adult can use a hot glue gun to get the leaves to stay.

#14: Leaf Ghost Craft

What a fun combination of a fall and Halloween craft! This is a must-try leaf craft this season.

Making ghosts out of leaves is REALLY easy, and they turn out so cool.

How to do this activity

A. Materials you need

leaves
acrylic paint
black Sharpie
white chalk marker

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B. Set-up

Head outside and have the kids pick some leaves! We chose to pick maple leaves because they are big and look more like ghosts, but you can use any sort of leaf for this project.

C. Activity

Have the kids paint the leaves using acrylic paint! We used white, orange, black, and purple for Halloween colors.

Let the leaves dry! This will take about 20 minutes.

Then, the kids will use a black marker to create the ghost’s face. If you decide to make a black leaf, they will use a white chalk marker to make the face!

You can even create decor using these leaves by using a hole puncher to punch a hole at the top of the leaves and string a string through it. Hang it up on the mantel!

#15: Leaf Oil Pastel Art

Using oil pastels is a fun and different supply that kids love to use.

This leaf craft is easy and turns out absolutely stunning! I love seeing all the fall colors together.

How to do this activity

A. Materials you need

black cardstock paper
oil pastels
FREE leaf template
masking tape

Click HERE for your FREE Leaf Template

B. Set-up

Print off my free leaf template, cut it out and use masking tape to tape it to the center of the black paper.

C. Activity

The kids will start with one color of oil pastel, and they will start coloring around the leaf. They can color on the template!

Then, they will continue to rotate colors around the entire leaf. We started out just by extending the line just a little with the template on.

Once we removed the template, we saw what it looked like and wanted to make the lines longer so it took up the entire page. Check out the video to see the details of what I am talking about.

This is a simple and fun leaf craft toddlers, preschoolers, and kids can do!

#16: Leaf Fingerprinting

Here’s another way you can use the FREE leaf template to create a fun leaf craft!

This one is an adorable keepsake that can be hung up all season. Seeing their little fingerprints in crafts is so cute!

How to do this activity

A. Materials you need

cardstock paper
paint
masking tape
FREE leaf template

Click HERE for your FREE Leaf Template

B. Set-up

Print off my template, cut it out and use masking tape to tape it to the white paper.

C. Activity

Have the kids dip one finger into the paint. They will make fingerprint marks all around the leaf. Tell them to try to cover as much of the paper as they can with their prints.

Then, they will make fingerprints all around the leaf. Once the entire leaf is covered, an adult can slowly remove the leaf shape from the paper.

Reveal what it looks like! This is such a cute and simple leaf craft for kids!

#17: Leaf Suncatchers

We love making suncatchers. They make really cute decorations around the house or classroom!

Plus, they are really pretty. This leaf craft is simple for preschoolers and toddlers to do.

How to do this activity

A. Materials you need

cardstock paper
contact paper
tissue paper squares
scissors

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B. Set-up

Create a leaf shape out of cardstock paper. Cut it out and poke the center out using a pencil and scissors to cut.

You can write the kid’s name on the leaf if you are a classroom teacher this is a really cute back-to-school craft to hang up on the windows.

C. Activity

Cut a piece of contact paper and place the leaf shape onto it. Then, cut off the extra pieces of contact paper.

Have the kids place tissue paper squares onto the contact paper. They can use one color or multiple tissue paper colors!

Then, cut another piece of contact paper and place it on the side with the tissue paper squares, so they stay on.

Hang these up on the window. These look so pretty in the light!

#18: Leaf Name Craft

I love being able to create crafts with the kids and have it be a learning opportunity as well!

This leaf craft is great for toddlers and preschoolers! It’s such a fun and colorful way to work on name building.

How to do this activity

A. Materials you need

cardstock paper
leaf hole punch
glue stick

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B. Set-up

Have the kids use the leaf hole puncher to create a bunch of different colored leaves!

C. Activity

Draw the kid’s name on a piece of white cardstock paper. Then, the kids will use a glue stick to glue the leaves to the letters of their name!

This is a great fine motor activity too.

#19: Turkey Leaf Craft

This turkey nature craft for kids is just adorable. I love the color of the leaves that we found to do this craft.

It’s so cool that you can use nature to create such fun crafts with the kids. This is a must try craft for Thanksgiving time.

How to do this activity

A. Materials you need

B. Set-up

Paint a paper plate brown and let it dry.

Create a turkey face out of construction paper. Glue on the beak, the snood, and googly eyes!

C. Activity

Take the kids outside and have them search for some colored leaves! This time of year around Ohio, we have some beautifully colored leaves.

Don’t have colored leaves? You can paint them! Use acrylic paint to paint the leaves.

Have the kids paste the leaves to the paper plate all around. Then, they will glue the turkey’s face on top of the leaves!

RELATED: Turkey Crafts for Kids

#20: Leaf Craft Name Activity

This is the perfect leaf craft for toddlers and preschoolers!

It’s a great way to practice learning the letters of their name.

How to do this activity

A. Materials you need

paper
scissors
glue stick
marker

B. Set-up

Create a tree out of cardstock paper! Then, glue it down on another piece of paper with a glue stick.

C. Activity

Make colored leaves out of cardstock paper and cut them out. We made the amount we needed for my son’s name and a few more to paste under the tree.

You may need to make the leaves smaller if you have a child with a longer name to fit it all in.

Write the letters of their name on the leaves, or have them write and practice some handwriting skills!

Then, they will paste them in order on the tree. You can add a few others at the bottom of the tree. We also ripped a few pieces of paper and had some at the bottom of the paper.

#21: Leaf Free Activity Pack

Grab my free leaf craft and activity pack! Inside, there are a bunch of fun and free fall activities.

You can use the leaf and tree template to create leaves however you want!

How to do this activity

A. Materials you need

markers
crayons
construction paper
yarn
glue
scissors

Click HERE for your FREE Leaf Activities

B. Set-up

Print off the pages of the pack that you want to use!

C. Activity

Inside this pack, there are two art activity templates. You can choose to make the yarn tree or the ripped paper leaf. You could also use different supplies like tissue paper, dot markers, paint, or other fun supplies.

There is also a tracing activity, cutting sheet, and leaf exploration activity.

Have fun with these leaf crafts and activities!

Final Thoughts and Conclusion

Leaf crafts are so much fun to do with the kids! It’s actually my favorite time of year to craft. The themes for fall are my favorite.

I hope you can find some leaf crafts for kids that you’ll try! I’d love to hear about what craft you tried with your kids at home or in the classroom.

Happy Crafting!

Deena