Last week I posted 6 Fantastic Kids Fall Bucket List Activities and in that post I promised to share this post on how to make autumn crowns for the kids. I was going to do a video tutorial but decided step by step pictures might be more helpful.
Crafty Mom
In times past I’ve always been the worst homeschool mom when it came to making crafts with my kids. I guess it’s because crafts require space, and when I first started our homeschool journey and for years we lived in such a tiny home; I didn’t really have space for all our books let alone crafts!
I’m so thankful our situation eventually got better. It took me awhile to realize that we could start incorporating some crafts into our homeschool though!
I’m new at this crafty mama thing, but I’ve bought some books to give me idea’s and lately I’ve been tremendously inspired by all the crafty Instagram mom’s.
When I saw these fall crowns by Emily over at the Hidden Way memories of my childhood and playing in the forests came flooding into my mind.
You see, I was unquestionably a true nature child growing up. When my mom and step dad moved with me from the big city away from my grandparents and aunts and uncles I thought my little life was doomed (I was 5).
But I still remember the day they introduced me to my new home. After a long drive I remember getting out of the car on this big mountain where we were going to live. I had never seen anything like it. I was instantly in wonderland. The woods were enchanting and mysterious to me and I never grew tired of being and playing in them. It’s actually a miracle I was never lost (permanently) or eaten alive by a cougar (yes, there’s a story there-but I’ll save that for another day)!
To this day the forests are my happy place and I think they have become my children’s too! I’m not sure there are any toys created by man that can match God’s creation.
I’m not sure there are any toys created by man that can match God’s creation.
www.singinganewsong.com
I got a vision for this session below the instant I saw Emily’s crown pictures. I could not wait to make the crowns for my own kids and get some pictures!
As I was editing these photographs the most funny thing happened. The kids were goofing off 10 feet away and decided to start playing some music and of course dancing because they do that. A lot. Of all the songs they could have chosen, this is the one they picked.
If you play this song as you scroll the images I think you’ll agree that it’s ironically fitting!
How To Make Autumn Crowns For The Kids, Step By Step Tutorial
When I first saw these I thought they looked difficult to make. But they were actually really easy! So easy that once I made the plan and the first one the kids completely took over and did them all by themselves. Here’s what you’ll need as well as the steps to make them;
- Kraft paper
- Tape
- Hot glue gun
- Glue stick for the glue gun
- Leaves
- Sticks
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1. Gather the sticks and leaves
I do recommend that you gather the sticks and leaves a couple days in advance and wash them just to make sure there are no bugs and critters living in them (for example fleas like living in leaves).
It will take a day or so for them to dry out after washing (just don’t wait too long because you want the leaves to be flexible and not break) so you’ll want to plan ahead. This is also a good time to break the sticks down to size.
2. Measure the kids “crowns”
First I measured each child’s head and added two inches because I wanted the kraft paper crown to overlap.
3. Decide how tall you want the crowns, cut them out and fold them.
We wanted tall crowns! Some of ours were 5 inches tall, so for those I measured 11 inches because I wanted to double the paper (for strength) and have some overlap to assure no paper cuts.
3. Assembly and decorating
Before taping I put each crown on the child’s head to size them perfectly (they will be heavy so you want them to be snug). Next I taped them.
After that we lined the sticks out on the table with the longest in the middle and the smaller stair stepping down-just the way you see them on the crown. This made it easier when it was time to start gluing. I did this so that I wouldn’t have to search for the right sized sticks with a hot glue gun waiting.
Then it was time to start gluing the sticks and leaves on and decorate them with leaves! I did the first one so the kids could see how to do one and they took it from there!
If you enjoyed this post you might also enjoy 6 Fantastic Kids Fall Bucket List Activities and Our Trip To The Pumpkin Patch.
