Fall Leaves Spray Painting Wall Art

It is almost the end of Fall here in US. Couple of days back when I was taking a walk with my little daughter she picked up some fall leaves. She kept playing with it and was so excited. It was the first time she did it on her own. This is what gave me inspiration for this craft. Spray painting is one of the easiest and interesting craft for kids. For the basic technique you can refer our older posts.

Fall leaves have vibrant colors and are very beautiful. They are perfect for using as a stencil for spray painting. It is a good way to add color to your walls even after fall.

Supplies required for the project

- Fall leaf of your choice
(A single medium size is what I picked)
- Card Stock-2
- Old toothbrush
- Acrylic Paint (Any water based color will do)
- Craft knife
- Pencil
- Color Markers

Keep the leaf on the card stock. Draw the outline. Using craft knife cut out the leaf. This will be your stencil. Refer the picture. Now dip the toothbrush in the color you want to paint your leaf. Put the stencil on the second card stock. Spray paint with the toothbrush. Once done draw the outline using a marker. Frame the art if you feel like. Parents should assist kids while handling the craft knife.

Tip : For younger kids if you want to avoid cutting out the stencil, use the leaf as a stencil and spray paint the rest of paper you will still have a beautiful painting.

Also, if the the leaf you selected is not perfectly flat, keep it inside a thick book for one day and you will have a perfect leaf to make the craft.

Easy spray painting craft for kids

Kids love to paint and get their hands messy with them. This is a great idea for beginners and can be extended to make complex designs as well. Whether the kids do it independently or with their parents simply depends on how old they are.
I used the following supplies :
Card stock
Thick paper sheet to cut out patterns
Scissors
Acrylic paint ( you can use any water based paint)
An old tooth brush

I simply drew some animal patterns on a thick sheet of paper and cut them out.
For younger kids ( Ages 4 and below I guess) you may have to do this for them. Or you can just get ready made patterns or print them out from internet if that suits you.

Arrange the pattern on the card stock as shown in the picture. If you find it difficult you can fix it with a paper pin for the spraying part.
Take some acrylic color on your paint dish. Wet you toothbrush with water and then wipe away access water using a paper towel. Dip the tooth brush in the paint ( do not take too much color otherwise the spray will have large spots) and run your thumb across the bristles to spray on the card stock. Continue till all of the card stock is covered with paint. You can use multiple colors also to create patterns. Be careful to cover the surface you are working on with paper towels or any plastic sheet as the paint will spray outside of the card stock too.

Let the paint dry and remove the cutout pattern. Yay...your card is ready, If you want you can outline the pattern with marker or leave it as it is. It totally depends on the pattern and your taste.

This is a great and inexpensive idea to keep kids entertained on play dates too.