I just LOVE fall and all of the fun DIY decorations that come along with this cozy season! This project makes you want to pour some hot apple cider, put on your favorite fall movie and get crafting!

If you tried to make my leafy magnetic tiles, then you can use your stickers and add a few to pumpkins! I personally think these stickers look stunning on white pumpkins and the colors really pop. I like placing the colorful pumpkins around my decorated white pumpkins! They look so nice together. 

For this activity, I used small pumpkins and other squash varieties because the stickers are on the smaller side. They fit perfectly and it’s fun to make a pretty pattern or design with the stickers! 

This is a great project for both little ones and adults. It’s not messy, doesn’t require knives for carving and easy to complete!

Ready to give it a try!? Here’s what you’ll need..

Supplies for this easy white pumpkin design:

• Pressed Leaf Stickers– One packet comes with 2 sheets of stickers. I would say 1 packet would be enough for 3-5 small pumpkins. But of course, it depends on the amount of stickers you want to place on your pumpkins. 
• Pumpkins- Head to your local grocery store or pumpkin farm and grab some pumpkins! I prefer small white pumpkins for this activity, but any color or size will work. 

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Here’s How I Made Them:

These are so easy to make! Just peel the leaves and stick them right on the pumpkins. You can add one sticker per pumpkin or more for a fun design. It’s up to you how you want to decorate them!

I love these stickers because they look just like real leaves and the set comes with a beautiful variety of leaf types and colors. 

They are also easy to peel off and move to another spot if you don’t like the sticker placement on the pumpkin! Just keep moving them around until you are happy with your design. 

On some pumpkins, we when for a minimalist approach with just a few stickers. I think this looks so beautiful and the perfect neutral tone fall decoration!

And other pumpkins, we came up with more of a mandala type pattern and had fun coming up with different designs. You can’t go wrong with these stickers!

Like mentioned early, they make a beautiful home decoration! These would also make a thoughtful handmade gift for a friend or family member this holiday season. You could set them out as a decoration for Thanksgiving dinner and then pass them out as guests leave! 

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I hope you enjoy this leaf activity as much as I do!

-Tara

Need more simple nature ideas?! Check out:

Stunning Leaf Lanterns

Leaf Sensory Writing Tray

The post Easy White Pumpkin Design appeared first on Little Pine Learners.

You might remember my glow-in-the-dark mummy hiking stick from years ago. This is a fun variation of that super simple Halloween craft. These pumpkins are easy for little ones to make and also fun for adults!

I love that these are a no carve design. I’m always a little nervous when my boys are holding sharp knives, for obvious reasons;) We try to do most of our pumpkin decorations without a knife and this is the perfect design!

Let’s get to it-

Supplies:

• Glow-in-the-dark tape– We used the half inch tape for the small pumpkins and a mix of the half inch tape and one inch tape for the larger one!
• Glow-in-the-dark googly eyes– We used the the mixed small sized googly eyes for the small pumpkins and the two inch googly eyes for the large pumpkin!
• Scissors
• Pumpkin-Head to your nearest grocery store or take a trip to the pumpkin farm! Grab different colors and sizes. 

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RELATED: Check out these GLOW-IN-THE-DARK MUMMY ROCKS

How to Make this Simple Mummy Pumpkin:

Step 1:

Cut strips of tape and wrap them around the pumpkin. Since this tape isn’t super flexible, I decided it was easier to cut the tape into strips instead of wrapping the a long piece of tape around the pumpkin multiple times. 

The length of your tape strips will depend on the size of your pumpkin. My tape strips wrapped a little more than half way around the pumpkin. This worked best for me!

I cut about 10-12 tape strips per pumpkin. Wrap the tape in a cross cross design to make it look more realistic! 

The beauty of this mummy pumpkin is you really can’t mess it up! Keep adding strips of tape until you are happy with the look of the pumpkin.

I only added a couple strips of tape to the back to complete the mummy look. The back of our pumpkin won’t be visible, so I decided to save tape and only add a couple pieces. 

Add a couple googly eyes and you are all done. The eyeballs also glow in the dark! 

Here is our larger pumpkin! We used the a mix of the half inch tape and one inch thick tape for this one. I would choose the inch tape if I had to pick one. It takes up more space on the pumpkin, so you can use less. We also used the two inch glow in the dark googly eyes!

This tape is waterproof and has already survived several storms, so these pumpkins can be displayed indoors or outdoors! As you can see in the photo below, the pumpkins are dripping wet and the tape isn’t budging. We have our pumpkins on our front steps and they look perfect!

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I hope you give this mummy pumpkin a try! I promise, your little nature lovers will love it as much as my boys.

∼Tara

Need more fall ideas?! Check out:

50 Beautiful Fall Nature-Inspired Books for Kids

Stunning Leaf Lanterns

The post No Carve Mummy Pumpkin appeared first on Little Pine Learners.

Here is my fall version of my viral pressed flower magnetic tiles! I loved that DIY so much that I had to recreate it for fall and I *think* I like these even more than the flowers! The leaf stickers that I found are so realistic and stunning. These tiles are incredibly durable and the pressed leaf stickers have a strong adhesive.  This DIY toy is perfect for little hands!

These make a wonderful and unique birthday or holiday gift for kids! They would be perfect to add to a fall equinox gift basket. Make a bunch of these magnetic tiles and place them in a basket along with fall books and other fun fall gifts, and give it to a special child in your life!

Ready to give it a try!? Here’s what you’ll need..

Supplies for the DIY Leaf Activity for Kids:

• Clear Magnetic Tiles– This activity has been such a big hit that the first set of magnetic tiles that I used is sold out on Amazon and their website! They tend to go back in and out of stock, so you can TAP HERE to see if they are currently available. If they are not in stock, then try the following brands! I have used these as well and they work well for the DIY! This Magna-Tile set comes with 16 tiles and I found its the perfect amount to mix in with our regular colorful set of tiles. Imagsimags also work well and of course Connetix Tiles are gorgeous! 
• Pressed Leaf Stickers– The adhesive on these brands are super strong and great for this activity!  This set of leaf stickers offers larger leaves and allows for one leaf per tile. 
• Light Pad– This is optional, but a fun accessory for any magnetic tile fan! You can see this in action on my Pressed Flower Magnetic Tile Post. 
• Flameless Tea Lights– I started adding these lights to my magnetic tile section of my classroom and they are a big hit! 

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Here’s How I Made the Magnetic Tiles:

These are so easy to make! Just peel the leaves and stick them on the magnetic tiles. You can combine the small and large leaf stickers or place just one sticker on each tile. It’s up to you how you want to decorate them!

How to Play with these Leafy Magnetic Tiles!

Try identifying the leaves with your child. It’s a fun challenge and great way to learn nature identification. The perfect leaf activity for kids!

They looked so beautiful in the sunlight! This presented a great opportunity to learn about shadows! The leaf shadows are gorgeous and fun to look at.

We also had fun stacking them on our sliding door. The tiles made a pretty sun catcher! They are also fun to arrange on the refrigerator or any metal surface. 

These are also so fun to play with on a light pad! The magnetic tiles are almost like DIY pressed leaf specimens. I’ve had this same light pad in my early childhood classroom for years and it has proven to be durable and long lasting! I guarantee the children will love stacking the tiles on and around the light pad!

We also loved making fall castles! My kindergarteners loved making up stories about the king and queen that lived inside the leafy castle. This fall activity offers kids the great opportunity to work on their language skills through storytelling! 

There are so many ways to play with these magnetic tiles! Perhaps the best way is to place them with other loose parts toys and let children come up with their own activities! The sky is the limit with these. 

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Here is a magnetic tile castle with flameless tea lights! So pretty. 

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I hope you enjoy this leaf activity as much as I do!

-Tara

Need more simple nature ideas?! Check out:

Stunning Leaf Lanterns

Leaf Sensory Writing Tray

The post A Leaf Activity for Kids appeared first on Little Pine Learners.

I recently purchased these stickers for my pressed flower magnetic tile DIY activity! I thought mushrooms and butterflies would be fun variations for the project, but quickly realized these stickers didn’t work well for that idea. They have a matte outline around the sticker, which I didn’t love on the clear magnetic tiles.

However, I absolutely LOVED the stickers and started thinking about new ways to use them. I tested them out on different surfaces and thought they were perfect on air dry clay! These stickers are very thin / flexible and the matte surface blends in perfectly with the color and texture of clay. 

If you love this craft, you might also love our nature pinch pots!

Ready to make a few dishes? Here’s what you’ll need..

Supplies:

• Air dried clay 
• Rolling pin
• Small bowl
• Knife
• Stickers- I have these mushroom and butterfly stickers. They are a washi style sticker and are very thin and moldable. I would not use a regular sticker because they would stick out too much and wouldn’t blend in as well with the clay. 
• Metallic paint- I used a metallic gold tempera paint for this project and didn’t love it. I needed to apply several coats and it still didn’t cover well. This gold leaf paint is highly recommended for clay crafts and I will be using this in the future. 
• Mod Podge– We used matte for this project.

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Here’s How We Made Our Clay Trinket Dishes:

Step 1: Prepare clay

Prepare your work space and roll the clay into a ball. Air dry clay is pretty sticky when it’s fresh out of the container, which makes it a little difficult to work with. I suggest letting it sit out for about 10 minutes to let it dry up a bit before starting your clay dish!

I covered a wooden cutting board with wax paper to keep the clay from sticking to the surface. 

Step 2: Roll out the clay trinket dish.

Use a rolling pin to flatten the clay. I suggest using a designated rolling pin for crafting projects. Roll clay until it is about 1/4 of an inch thick. 

Step 3: Cut out clay dish shape. 

Find a small bowl for your dish shape. Place it on top of the flattened clay to cut out the dish. Then, gently pull the excess clay away from the dish shape. If children are involved in this craft, make sure they are using a blunt knife or help them with this step.

Step 4: Lay clay dish in the bowl. 

Use the same bowl as used in step 3. Place the clay in the bowl and let it dry for about 24 hours. Placing the clay piece in a bowl, will help form a slight dip in your dish. After 24 hours, place the clay dish on a drying rack, to dry the underside of clay. The clay will turn slightly tan while drying, but will be a nice shade of white when completely dried. 

Step 5: Paint

Some people sand the edges to make them perfect at this point, but I skipped that step! I personally like the minor imperfections. Once the dishes are completely dry, use metallic paint to form a fancy rim around the dishes. I think this really elevated the look of the pieces! 

Step 6: Stickers

I played around with different sticker designs on the dishes before peeling and sticking. Once I found designs that I liked, I stuck them on the dishes. Carefully place the stickers on the clay dishes, avoiding lines and ripples in the stickers. 

Step 8: Seal the clay trinket dish.

Use a THIN layer of matte Mod Podge to seal the dish. Do not use a lot of sealer for this particular craft. These stickers are so thin, that they will pucker up a bit when covered with Mod Podge, but they should flattened out when dried! 

I absolutely love how these clay trinket dishes turned out! I tried to pick a favorite, but I just can’t decide. Which one do you like the most?!

Pin it and save it for later!

I hope you try making a clay trinket dish! I promise, your little nature lovers will love it as much as my boys.

∼Tara

Need more nature craft ideas?! Check out:

Homemade Pencil Case with Nature Prints

DIY Pressed Flower Night Light

The post Clay Trinket Dish appeared first on Little Pine Learners.

These ghosts are fun, cute, friendly, and not the least bit spooky. We love them so much that we named the first one Daisy right after we made it! These sweet ghosts are made of white daisies, so I guess it’s fitting:)

I also love that this ghost craft is mostly see through, as many ghosts are depicted. Depending on how the light hits them, you might really need to search for them!

Ready to make a few Daisy Ghost Crafts?! Here’s what you’ll need–

Supplies:

• • Clear Contact Paper
  • Pressed Pieces of Nature– We used this exact set of white daisies. 
  • Googly eyes– We used the eyelash eyes in this kit.
  • Scissors
  • Paper Punch
  • Twine
  • Metal Hooks
  • Clothespins

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Related: Check out 20+ Pressed Flower Crafts

Here’s How I Made This Ghost Craft:

Step 1:

Trace 2 ghost shapes onto contact paper.

To do this, trace the ghost, then flip it over and trace it facing the other way. This will ensure your unique ghost shapes will match when you press them together.

Step 2: 

Cut out your contact paper ghosts. 

Step 3:

Peel the contact paper ghosts and set up your ghost making station. I set out the white daisies and contact paper- sticky side up.

Step 4:

Now it’s time to decorate! My boys loved getting creative and decorating their pieces of contact paper. Each ghost turned out so cute! It’s okay if the flowers are not fully on the contact paper, but keep in mind that the ghosts will not be completely sealed if this happens. 

Step 5:

Once the pieces of nature are on the sticky side of the contact paper, seal the pieces of nature with another piece of contact paper. This time, place it sticky side down. As you can see, the ghosts might not match up perfectly, but that’s ok! You can cut any excess contact paper and flowers sticking out of the ghost outline. Or you can keep the flowers sticking out! It’s completely up to you. 

Step 6:

Stick on a couple of googly eyes, draw an oval mouth and you are almost finished! Now you just need to decide how you want to display your ghosts. 

You can string them on twine and make a pretty ghost sun catcher garland. These look so neat with the sun shinning through them!

Or you can hot glue a clothespin on the back of the ghosts and hide them around the house or classroom. Try to move them around each day and make a searching game! I love how they look hiding in our plants. 

Finally, you can paper punch the top of the ghost and stick a metal hook through it and place it anywhere! We stuck a few in our spiderweb fabric that’s hanging on our mantel and they look very see through here. It’s fun to see people discover them!

Pin it and save it for later!

I hope you have fun making this cute ghost craft! I promise, your little nature lovers will love it as much as my boys.

∼Tara

Need more simple nature ideas?! Check out:

A Simple Leaf Lantern to Make With Kids

Leaf Witch or Wizard Hat for Halloween

The post The Cutest Ghost Craft for Halloween appeared first on Little Pine Learners.

Making this bird feeder is a great way to teach children about caring for nature and how to identify local birds that stick around during the colder months! In Wisconsin, we see Black-Capped Chickadees, American Crows, Northern Cardinals, Blue Jays, Morning Doves, and many more birds during the colder months!

We made heart bird valentines last winter and thought these cute ghosts would be fun for Halloween!

Ready to make a DIY bird feeder?! Here’s what you’ll need..

Supplies:

• Cardboard– Grab these if you don’t have any cardboard to reuse.
• Cookie Cutter Shapes -Optional: We did not use cookie cutters for our bird feeders. This is an option for people that don’t want to freehand their shapes!
• Pencil
• Scissors
• Glue
• Clothespins
• Bird Food- I tried multicolored bird food at first and it did not work out. I highly suggest using black and white birdseed for this activity. We used safflower seeds and black oil sunflower seeds
• Peanut Butter or try PEANUT FREE Sunbutter

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RELATED: Check out 50+ Nature-Inspired Fall Picture Books

Here’s How We Made This DIY Bird Feeder:

Step 1:

First decide on a shape for your bird feeder. You could make bats, pumpkins, cats or any other fun Halloween design! I quickly drew a simple ghost design. 

Step 2:

Trace your cookie cutter or drawing onto cardboard. 

Step 3:

Cut out your shape. 

Step 4:

Glue the clothespins to the back of your cardboard shapes. We used a hot glue gun, but I think Elmer’s glue would work just fine. The clothespins make the perfect perch for the birds!

Step 5:

Now hold on to the clothespin and spread peanut butter onto your cardboard shape. Make sure you spread a thick even layer, so the birdseed will stick in the next step. Don’t forget the edges! We stuck our sunflower seed eyes and nose on right away. 

If you can’t use peanut butter due to allergies, try PEANUT FREE Sunbutter.

Step 6:

Decorate your bird feeders! 

The easiest way to decorate the bird feeder, is to hold on to the clothespin and press the peanut butter side into the birdseed. The clothespins are not only functional, but help make this a low-mess activity!

Here is another way to decorate your bird feeder! Decorate the edge of the the ghost with the black sunflower seeds and sprinkle the middle with the safflower seeds! This is great for building fine motor skills and practicing hand-eye coordination. This way is a bit more challenging and messy;) 

We had fun searching for spots around our yard to clip our bird feeders! In the winter, we chose evergreen trees, but we found thick sturdy stems of flowers worked well this time around. They looked beautiful clipped on to the sunflowers and mums!

Pin this activity to save it for later!

I hope you give this DIY bid feeder a try! I promise, your little nature lovers will love it as much as my boys.

∼Tara

Looking for more nature activity ideas?! Check out:

Stunning Leaf Lantern

A Simple Mummy Rock Nature Craft

The post DIY Ghost Bird Feeder for Kids appeared first on Little Pine Learners.

We had so much fun making these! I think they make a cute home decoration, classroom art project, or non-sugary Halloween gift to pass out during trick-or-treating. We might even hide them in our neighborhood for people to find! I think they would be fun to discover during a walk. What do you think?!

Ready to make a bunch? Here’s what you’ll need….

Supplies:

• Washable Paint
• Thin Black Sharpie Marker
• Stones- We grabbed a few from our nature collection. You can also find stones in craft stores, landscape shops,  or Amazon.
• We were inspired by illustration in this fingerprint art book! The last I checked, it was 77% off! 

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RELATED: Check out 10+ Simple and Beautiful Stone Activities for Kids!

Here’s Our Favorite Fingerprint Art Designs:

Before you add the detail to make your Halloween picture, you need to paint your fingertip and stamp it on the rock! Some designs work best with just the top circular part of a fingertip and some work best with half of a fingertip painted. 

Silly Monster#1

1. Draw two triangles for ears
2. One large circle with a dot in the middle for an eye
3. One curve for the smile 
4. Two colored in triangles for the teeth

Silly Monster #2

1. Three longer strands of hair on each side of the monster’s face and four short strands of hair for the bangs
2. Three dots for eyes
3. Four upside down triangles touching each other for teeth

Skeleton

Notice there are two fingerprint marks here!

1. Two colored in ovals for eyes
2. One colored in triangle for the nose
3. One curve with six lines for the mouth
4. One line down the middle of the bottom fingerprint with five lines on each side for the ribs
5. Two arms with circle elbow joints and five finger lines for each hand
6. Two legs with circle knee joints and five toe lines for each foot

Ghost

1. Two colored in oval eyes
2. One colored in squiggly open mouth
3. Two lines going up on both sides of the ghost with 5 five finger lines for each hand
4. Two lines going down the sides of the ghost, connected with a squiggly line

Witch #1

1. Two dots for eyes
2. One backwards “L” for a nose
3. One curve for a smile with two small curves for cheeks
4. Four strands of hair that meet like pigtails on both sides of the witches face

Witch #2

1. Two dots for eyes with lines angled upward for eyebrows
2. One sideways “V” for a nose
3. One curve for a smile 
4. Two squiggly strands of hair on both sides of the witch’s face
5. One straight line going across the witch’s forehead with a colored in triangle on top for the hat

Pumpkin

Notice the fingerprint is sideways here!

1. One colored in rectangle stem on top of the pumpkin
2. Two colored in upside down triangle eyes
3. One colored in curve, connected with a line on top (save a spot for a missing tooth) 

Spider

1. Two rows of three dots for eyes on the middle of the spider
2. Four upside down “V” shaped spider legs on both sides of the spider 

Pin this activity to save it for later!

I hope you give this Halloween fingerprint art project a try! I promise, your little nature lovers will love this activity as my boys.

∼Tara

Looking for more nature craft ideas?! Check out:

Flower Petal Art on Rocks

A Stunning Leaf Lantern

The post Fingerprint Art Rocks for Halloween appeared first on Little Pine Learners.

We made a Christmas version of these beeswax ornaments last winter and they turned out so beautiful, that I knew we had to try them again for other holidays!

Ready to make some Halloween tree ornaments? Here’s what you’ll need….

Supplies for the Halloween Tree Ornaments:

• Beeswax– I like this brand of yellow pellets. 
• Mini Crock pot– I have a mini crock pot designated for beeswax crafts! We use beeswax quite a bit, so when we are done using it I just let it harden in the Crock Pot and save it for another day. This seems to be the perfect size for all of my beeswax crafts. I don’t suggest using one that is bigger because you will need to use A LOT of beeswax to fill it up. I purchased my Crock Pot at a second hand store, but it is also available on Amazon. If you don’t want to invest in a Crock Pot, many people use a double boiler for this craft. 
• Something to help pour the beeswax. We designated a metal measuring cup for beeswax activities.
• Hangers or string
• Silicone molds, here are a few that I purchased and would be fun for fall or Halloween- pumpkins/bats/ghosts and more, crescent moon and wolf, forest animals and mushrooms (These are REALLY small, but a few of them worked)  The fun thing about molds is you can choose whatever figures you want depending upon the time of year and your interests. 

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RELATED: Check out Rolled Beeswax Candles That Kids Will Love!

Here’s How We Made Our Halloween Tree Ornaments:

First melt your beeswax. I like using a Crock Pot for this craft because it’s safer than on the stovetop and I feel more comfortable with my boys helping!

Step 2:

Once your beeswax is melted, ladle the liquid into the molds. Be careful, the beeswax is very warm! My boys are comfortable working with beeswax because we use it so often and I’m always right there with them.

Don’t worry if you spill beeswax on your silicone tray because you can easily pick it off after it dries. Remember to toss it back in your Crock Pot! It will melt back with the rest of the beeswax the next time you use it. 

Step 3:

Let your beeswax dry for about 3-5 minutes. Just enough that it changes colors and the top layer is dry. Then gently poke your hanger or string through the beeswax about halfway into the mold. Don’t poke it through to the other side!

Step 4: 

Let the beeswax dry for another 30 minutes or so. At this point, you should be able to pop them out and flip them over to dry a bit longer. 

Now that we have our ornaments, we need to make our Halloween tree! They are easy to make and will get you and your family outside. Just collect small branches from your yard, put them in a mason jar, and hang the ornaments on the branches. 

Or we are thinking about hanging them on twine to make a not so spooky garland! I might wrap fairy lights around the garland because light brings out the beautiful detail in the beeswax! Just remember, don’t put them near a fireplace or anywhere hot because they will melt. Enjoy!

Pin this activity to save it for later!

I hope you try making these Halloween tree ornaments soon! I promise, your little nature lovers will love this beeswax craft as much as my boys.

∼Tara

Looking for more nature activity ideas?! Check out:

Beeswax Luminaries with Temporary Tattoo Decorations 

How to Preserve Fall Leaves With Beeswax

The post Beeswax Halloween Tree Ornaments appeared first on Little Pine Learners.

We made beautiful pressed flower beeswax bowl luminaries a few months ago and have been enjoying them ever since. I recently got the idea to use temporary tattoos on the these cute beeswax bowls and I’m so happy I tried it! Temporary tattoos allow you to personalize your luminaries any way you would like. You can spell words with letter tattoos, try bright and colorful prints, or keep it simple with black line tattoo designs. I personally love the simplicity of the black lines. Our beeswax luminaries turned out so nice and look like items you would find in a boutique shop!

Ready to make a beeswax luminary or two? Here’s what you’ll need….

Supplies for the Beeswax Luminaries:

• Beeswax– I like this brand of yellow pellets. 
• Mini Crock pot– I have a mini crock pot designated for beeswax crafts! We use beeswax quite a bit, so when we are done using it I just let it harden in the Crock Pot and save it for another day. This seems to be the perfect size for all of my beeswax crafts. I don’t suggest using one that is bigger because you will need to use A LOT of beeswax to fill it up. If you don’t want to invest in a Crock Pot, many people use a double boiler for this craft. 
• Water balloons
• Temporary Tattoos– My boys are really interested in summer insects at the moment, so I purchased this pack! This pack includes a wide variety of black line and colorful buggy designs. You can also work on insect identification when making your luminaries:) 
• Flameless candles

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RELATED: Check out 20+ Pressed Flower Crafts

Here’s How We Made Our Beeswax Luminaries:

First melt your beeswax. It takes about 30 minutes for about half the bag to melt in the Crock Pot. Don’t fill your entire Crock Pot with beeswax or it will overflow when you dip your balloons!

This Crock Pot is great for beeswax crafts because it’s safer than the stovetop and I feel more comfortable with my boys helping!

Step 2:

Fill a water balloon with water. Never use a balloon filled with air because you sill pop it! Make sure your water balloons are skinnier than your Crock Pot, so they don’t hit the sides during the dipping process. This will smudge the beeswax and will limit the amount of times you can dip the balloon.

Dip your water ballon about 15 times in the beeswax to the same level. You can dip it more if you want to make a stronger bowl. 

In between dips, let the beeswax dry for about 10 seconds or until the beeswax stops dripping. Give your beeswax luminary about 5 minutes to dry after this step. 

Step 3:

Next pop the balloon over the sink, making sure the balloon doesn’t go down the drain. Dry out the beeswax bowl.

Last, line a pan with foil and heat it on low. After you give the stove top a minute to warm up, quickly run to top edges of the bowl on the warm foil to even the edges. 

Flip the bowl over and warm the base to give it a small flat surface to sit on. 

Step 4:

Now it’s time to decorate your bowl! There is no trick to this step. Use the tattoos just like you were applying them to your skin. Choose the temporary tattoos that you would like to use for your luminaries and follow the decorations on your specific temporary tattoo packaging.

We made one with just bees!

Here are the other designs. I love the butterfly, moth, and dragonfly prints in the pack as well!

Now your beeswax luminaries are finished! I like to add a flameless candle to the bowls. The warm glow looks so beautiful!

These are a bit delicate, so I taught my boys how to handle them carefully. 

Don’t these make the perfect natural decoration for your home? I hope you love them as much as we do!

Pin this activity to save it for later!

I hope you make some beeswax luminaries soon! I promise, your little nature lovers will love this craft as my boys.

∼Tara

Looking for more nature activity ideas?! Check out:

DIY Pebble Art for Kids

How to Preserve Fall Leaves With Beeswax

The post Beeswax Luminaries with Temporary Tattoo Decorations appeared first on Little Pine Learners.

I know summer just started, but I want to share this fun craft that will get anyone excited for the coming school year! These homemade sweet pencil cases can be made AND used by children! They can also be handed out as homemade teacher gifts or teachers can make them for the classroom or themselves. This is a craft for everyone and it has many uses!! 

This could also make a lovely make up case for Mother’s Day!

Ready to make one or two? Here’s what you’ll need….

Supplies:

• Flowers and leaves
• Canvas pencil case
• Tape
• Hammer
• Iron

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RELATED: Check out 20+ Beautiful Pressed Flower Crafts

Here’s How We Made These Homemade Pencil Cases:

Step 1:

First, gather some of your favorite flowers and leaves. We had the best luck with pansies, random wildflowers, and ferns. I suggest using one pencil case as a tester to see which unique pieces of nature available to you work the best for this craft. 

Once you have your pieces of nature, start experimenting! There are several different ways to hammer nature prints onto fabric, but we found this method worked the best for this canvas material. 

Place your flower face down on the bag. 

Step 2: 

Place tape over your piece of nature to secure it in place when you hammer the print. I found it best not to have overlapping tape (as pictured below). This can sometimes leave lines on your nature print. Try your best to cover the entire piece of nature with one piece of tape. 

Step 3:

Place a thin piece of wood or cardboard inside the bag. Then hammer way! I found it best to hammer around the outside of the plant first and work your way towards the center to complete the print of each piece of nature.

I modeled this technique once, then let my boys have a turn! It was a fun collaborative effort. 

Step 4:

Take off the tape to reveal your print! I like to slowly peel off the tape to make sure we got the entire piece of nature. If not, I just placed it right back in it’s spot to continue the process. 

If the print is wet, let it dry before removing excess plant material. My pansies were pretty juicy, so I let them dry before I gently swept away the dried bits. 

Once you get the hang of it, you can tape a bunch at one time for a more dramatic reveal!

Once dried, you can iron the prints to help the colors set.

Here are some after photos! Which homemade pencil case do you like the most?

The large fern piece was a bit more difficult because we had overlapping tape which made it a bit uneven, but I think it still looks pretty!

Here are all of our designs in one spot.

Pin this activity to save it for later!

I hope you give this homemade pencil case a try! I promise, your little nature lovers will love this activity as my boys.

∼Tara

Looking for more nature crafts and activity ideas?! Check out:

Clay Dish With Evergreen Pieces

Stunning Leaf Lantern

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