by Wendy Roltgen

Created on: October 26, 2009   Last Updated: October 28, 2009

Fall is the perfect time of year to work on fun arts and crafts projects with your children. The cooler weather and fewer hours of sunlight often means more time indoors with little to do. These fun and colorful crafts projects will keep everyone entertained while creating keepsakes you can enjoy year after year.

1. Handprint Turkey Placemats
A fun fall arts and crafts project for children is to make handprint turkey placemats. For this project, you need construction paper, pens, pencils, glue, paint, markers and a laminator. First trace your child's handprint onto a piece of white construction paper or cardstock. Depending on the time you have available for this project, you can create one placemat for your child to use or enough for all family members. The thumb of the hand will serve as the head of the turkey. The fingers should be decorated like turkey wings. Let your child decorate with pieces of construction paper, markers or paint. Allow the artwork to dry and then run through a laminator if you have one available or take to a local print shop and have them laminate the placemats for you. Clear contact paper can serve as a protective covering for the placemat as well.

2. Tree Canvas Painting
Another fall arts and crafts project that is well-suited for children is to make a colorful tree painting featuring the colors of autumn leaves. To create this project, purchase a small canvas from a local craft store. Start the project out by painting a simple tree trunk onto the canvas. Use red, green, yellow and orange paints and have your children dip their fingers into the paints to create colorful finger print leaves around the tree. Allow the paint to dry on the canvas and then hang on the wall or place on a shelf to bring a touch of fall indoors for everyone to enjoy.

3. Autumn Inspired Gifts
With Christmas just around the corner, fall is the perfect time to make gifts for family and friends. Before it gets too cold, seek out natural objects like colorful leaves, pinecones and twigs that can be used to create unique ornaments to give family members as gifts. Pinecones can turn into decorative ornaments for a Christmas tree by dusting the surface with gold or silver paint and gluing a red ribbon hanger to the top. Small twigs become a rustic snowflake by arranging them in interesting shapes and wrapping them together with natural looking ribbon or hemp cording. Use a color scanner and printer to make unique leaf patterns and prints that can be used to decoupage candles, cups and other materials.

Make this fall one to remember with these fun fall arts and crafts projects for children. Not only will you have fun creating together, you'll also be creating keepsakes you'll enjoy decorating with each fall.

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