Wonderful Wednesday...Fall Frame

I've got a quick and easy project to do with your kids today. It is something that can be tailored for even the littlest hands. I saw a pillow two years ago that had a very simple fall tree on it. The leaves were all done in different patterned fabrics and it begged to be replicated! I am not the bravest crafter when it comes to sewing, so I moved the idea onto a picture frame.

Have you bought the plain wooden frames from Michaels for $1? They have them in several sizes, but I have a preference for the square ones. I have used them for so many projects and the possibilities are endless. If you are picking them up for just your family, you could use the 40% off coupon and get them for $0.60! Can you beat that?

When I made my project the first time, I painted my frame with brown acrylic paint and a foam brush. Easy and inexpensive. Last year, I took the project to my daughters class. I could have had them all paint the frame, but I was looking for a less messy project. So I spray painted them before I took them to school. Even easier...and it only took one can of paint, so it was still pretty inexpensive.

I used this punch from Martha Stewart to make my leaves...


You certainly wouldn't need this punch. I purchased it so I could cut out a whole bunch of leaves to take to school. For just a few projects it would be easy to cut the leaves by hand or have the kids do it themselves. I used different pieces of paper I already had from my craft stuff, so there was no cost to purchase paper. However, it requires such a small amount of paper, it wouldn't cost much to purchase some. It is also a great project to use scraps!

I gave each of the kids a piece of a brown paper grocery bag. I had them wrinkle it up before they cut out their tree trunk. I think a simple shape works best in this case.

Here is what the project looked like when we glued it onto the frame...


I drew detailing on the tree trunk with a fine tip pen. I used stitch marks along the edge to make it look a little more homemade. More of a tribute to the pillow where the project idea originated from.

We also used some twine and raffia to tie around the edge of the frame, just for some added detail.

The first year I made this in the classroom, my daughter was home sick from school. She didn't get to make one. We did it again last year in 2nd Grade...the joys of a new batch of kids...recycled projects! This is her project from last year...


I love the leaves that are made from old book pages. I would actually like to do another one with leaves mostly from book pages. My favorite part of her frame is actually on the back.


Not many things are sweeter than the heartfelt note from a 7 year old!

There are so many ways to tweak this project to make it your own. I would love to do one with distressing on the frame and maybe a tree trunk made from burlap. Have your older kids look at the photo on the blog and then set them free to create their own version. Make one to give to your child's teacher for Thanksgiving with a little note inside the frame. I think this project could even be done with toddlers. Of course you would want to do all of the cutting ahead of time and just supply them with the things to glue down. It is really a project that can be used by any age!

If you give this project a try, I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to see your finished results!