Fall Leaves and a Craft

 I'm not sure I've ever appreciated or enjoyed the changing seasons as much as I have this year. I'm not sure if it's because I have a four year old and we talk about the different characteristics of each season, or if it's just because I've taken the time to notice the little details.  I notice the leaves as they fall to the ground, the butterflies as they dance around, the crisp air when I step outside in the morning, and all the glorious colors of autumn.

 In the evening, when the sun goes down, the light seems to transform the landscape into something magical, even in our own yard. There are so many colors I want to capture in a photo... I never seem to be able to, but I'm sure you know what I'm talking about. 

With the fall foliage at its peak, we picked up colorful leaves we saw during our daily walks this week.  Then we pressed our collection while I looked for a kids craft project to use them in.  There are a lot of fun fall crafts out there using leaves, but I fell in love with this project from Martha Stewart.  I know ideally the leaves should be pressed for a week, but since I was impatient eager to start, we just pressed them overnight and they worked just fine. 

Obviously all the cutting was done by me, but Jillian helped give input on which leaves to use and then she glued and drew the little details.  

We spelled the word "fall" and chose to create leaf animals for each of those letters.  I really had no intention of blogging about it, but it was such a fun craft project and turned out so cute.  Once we finished, the girls went down for naps and I strung the letters up on the mantel to surprise Jillian when she woke up. 

She spent a long while looking at her work that afternoon and honestly so did I.  (smile)  I plan on laminating these this week so I'll always have them as a reminder of the fun morning we had together learning more about the season.

"Ohhh, look at Rosetta hugging me, Mommy!"

Happy Fall!

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