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A boy and a girl playing with autumn leaves.

Leaf printing and stencilling

Blue painted background
Collect as many different leaves as you can for some great messy masterpieces.

You will need

  • A variety of fresh leaves

  • Water-based paints

  • Small paintbrush

  • Old newspaper

  • Old toothbrush

  • Sheets of paper

Leaf printing instructions

  1. Hold a leaf by its stem and paint on one side only.

  2. Lay the leaf (paint side down) on a sheet of paper.

  3. Cover the leaf with a sheet of old newspaper and gently rub.

  4. Remove the newspaper and leaf to reveal the leaf print. Use different leaves to make a collage.

Leaf stencilling instructions

  1. Lay a selection of leaves on a sheet of paper. Make sure you leave gaps of paper.

  2. Dip the old toothbrush into the paint. Hold the brush over the leaves and rub your thumb over the bristles so that the paint splatters over the leaves.

  3. Keep adding more paint and rubbing until the paper and leaves are covered with dots.

  4. Carefully remove the leaves.