I love decorating, and I adore spending time with my sweet little boy, so anytime those two JOYS can be combined, I am one happy homemaking mama!
This pretty Fall decoration is very easy, very affordable (which of course, also makes for a happy husband!), very festive, and, most importantly very fun to do with your little ones.
Step 1: Go on a leaf hunt with your kiddos. Encourage them to find reds, yellows, and oranges. Pause to admire their beautiful findings (they'll want you to look at each one), and use the opportunity to teach them about how we can see God's hand in His creation. Landon decided that God must really like orange, because we happen to have a lot of that particular color on our trees right now.
Step 2: Cut two similar-sized pieces of Con-Tact paper (about $4/roll).
Step 3: Peel the backing off one sheet of paper, and lay it sticky-side up. Show your child how to apply the leaves and fall flowers face down onto the paper.
Step 4: This is the trickiest part. Peel the backing off the second sheet of Con-Tact paper, and carefully line it up (sticky side down this time) with one of the edges of the decorated paper. Then, using both hands, adhere the two papers together by slowly pushing the top paper down in a back-and-forth smoothing motion. Once the two sheets are one, smooth out all air bubbles. Sorry for the blurry picture...since my hands were busy for this shot, I had to rely on a four-year-old photographer.
Step 5: To Create Placemats- Personal recommendation: Placemats go very well initially enjoyed over a nice cup of "warm" apple cider. Personal warning: Don't refer to the apple cider as "hot," or you will be enjoying the placemats for much longer than you intended, while you wait for the cider to cool down...even if it wasn't actually that "hot" to begin with.
Step 6: To Create Sun Catcher- Follow steps 1-4. Then, hole punch the two top corners. Decide where you want the artwork to hang, and tie the appropriate length of fishing line from one corner to the other.
Step 7: Hang the sun-catcher from your window. These are beautiful on a nice fall day, and your kids will be so proud to see that you've hung their artwork for all to see and enjoy throughout the season.
