As summer wraps up it’s time to get ready for back-to-school season! Whether you have already started classes, or are getting ready to head back – these crafts are the perfect way to fill your fall! We will jump into some Halloween, Day of the Dead, Thanksgiving, and Fall STEM ideas for you to try out at home or in your classroom!

1. Color Wheels

Creating the color wheel is a wonderful project to introduce early into the school year! Practice mixing colors, learning about primary, secondary, complimentary, and tertiary colors. This project is great to keep around all year to reference while working on future projects!

What You Will Need:

• Paper plates

• Primary paint colors

• Pencils

• Rulers or straight edge

• Paint brushes, cups, and palettes

• Table cloth and trays

• Additional; markers to label

Instructions:

1. Begin by reviewing terms like primary, secondary, complementary and tertiary colors. As students begin to mix colors, review with them which colors create what color they just made

2. Divide your paper plate into 6 even sections with your ruler and pencil

3. Begin with red, yellow, and blue - and paint within the lines

4. Begin mixing colors to try and make orange (what combination works?!)

5. Mix your colors to make green (what combination works?!)

6. And finally, mix your colors to make purple (what combination works?)

7. Allow time for your color wheels to dry, and feel free to label them if you would like to!

2. Fall Resin Flowers

Resin is a super fun activity to customize a project with a beautiful result! Select your dried flowers, and arrange your resin piece to be one of a kind! We love to add in fall colors like orange, red, and greens for a beautiful fall themed piece of art!

What You Will Need:

• Resin kit

• Safety materials (gloves, goggles, etc.)

• Resin molds

• Dried Flowers

Instructions:

1. Make sure you are working on this with a trusted adult! Resin can be messy and unsafe if done improperly - so be sure to work with a teacher or parent!

2. After putting on your safety gear, find your mold and mix your resin ingredients. Pour your resin into the mold, and place dried flowers in

3. Allow your resin to cure for at least 24 hours, and possibly more depending on the mixture. When it is fully dried and hardened, it is a great piece of art to decorate your home or classroom with!

3. Habitat Diorama

Teach your kids about different animals and their habitats with one of our favorite crafts! This is a great learning opportunity for students to challenge their understanding of the ecosystem and the world around them! Add in fall elements like Autumn themed greenery and animals like owls that remind us spooky season is almost here!

What You Will Need:

• Shoe box or other recycled container

• Craft paper

• Scissors

• glue/tape

• Modeling clay

• Found natural elements (leaves, sticks, flowers, rocks)

• Misc. crafting supplies (miniature animals, gems, stickers, etc.)

Instructions:

1. Begin by deciding on a habitat that you would like to create. Think of one of your favorite animals, or one you would like to learn about! Do a little bit of research on the habitats they live in, and begin creating your diorama!

2. Cut pieces of craft paper to fill in the walls of your box or container

3. Add clay elements, nature bits, and any other craft elements to fill the space according to what you know about your habitat

4. Modeling clay is a great way to make distinctive features like a river, tree, or cave!

5. Finally, use modeling clay to sculpt your animal! Place it in its home, and you have your very own habitat diorama!

4. Rock Candy Experiment

Rock candy is a super fun science project for kids! This project can be observed for 1-2 weeks, and introduces kids to the scientific process and terms like “solution.”

What You Will Need:

• jar/glass

• Spoon

• Clean wooden chopstick

• Clothespin

• 1 cup of water

• 3 cups of sugar

• A pot and stove

Instructions:

1. Make sure you are completing this project with a grown up! We will be using a stove and need a teacher or parent to help us!

2. Boil your water in the pot, and when it reaches a boil – pour in a little bit of your sugar at a time while stirring with the spoon. Continue this until no more sugar will dissolve

3. Dip your chopstick in water, and then roll it in sugar

4. Place this copstick in your jar so that it is hovering above the bottom, and secure it in place with a clothespin

5. When your sugar water mixture has cooled down to room temperature, pour it into your jar leaving some room at the top of the jar

6. Wait 1-2 weeks and watch as your crystals grow! Your candy will be done around this time, and you can enjoy it and share it with friends!

5. Thanksgiving Puppets

Thanksgiving will be here before you know it! Prepare now and check out this super fun textile craft for your little ones. Using felt in fall colors, this craft is a great way to practice following patterns, sewing, and character design!

What You Will Need:

• Felt fabric (variety of colors, fall theme for Thanksgiving)

• Scissors

• Hot Glue

• Sewing needles

• Thread

• Pins

• Paper and Pencils

• Buttons

• Googly Eyes (Optional)

Instructions:

1. Begin by deciding on what puppet you want to create! If you want to create our Thanksgiving Turkey, that’s great!

2. Draw the shapes of your puppet on a piece of paper. Remember that you want to make the base shape of your puppet larger than you would expect so that you will have room for your hand or fingers! Draw the details you would like to add as well, and cut these shapes out

3. Using the shapes you just cut out, lay them onto your felt and pin them into place. Cut out the shapes in the colors you want

4. Place your front and back pieces together and sew along the edge (or hot glue if you are unable to sew). Make sure that you do not sew the bottom closed - because this is where you will place your hands or fingers in the puppet

5. Glue on your smaller pieces (or sew if you have the time and ability!) and don’t forget to add some button or googly eyes!

6. You're all done! Have fun using these in puppet shows, or to play with among toys!

6. Wicked Clay Creations

Clay is an incredible resource for young students to explore their creativity in a sensory friendly way. This craft allows freedom to create from the imagination, and experiment with a material that can be very versatile in crafting and art. Add a fun fall theme, or even spooky if you find yourself using this around Halloween!

What You Will Need:

• Modeling clay in a variety of color

• Clay tools (optional)

• Trays

Instructions:

1. Begin by showing your students or kiddos how to utilize clay! Introduce basic methods such as creating shapes and adding textures. Ensure that they understand mixing colors and how that is irreversible!

2. Challenge them to sculpt objects like pumpkins, and then give them the freedom to create whatever they choose! Have fun!

7. Yarn Wrapped Mummy

This is such a fun and easy craft to bring out around Halloween! This simple craft can be great to introduce students to textiles and future projects like circle weaving or macrame. Have fun customizing your mummies, and add unique elements like googly eyes or colorful hair!

What You Will Need:

• Black paper (cut into mummy shape)

• White yarn

• Scissors

• tape/glue

• Googly eyes

• Markers

Instructions:

1. Begin by showing your students or kids a quick demonstration of wrapping and securing the yarn onto their mummy. This should be a slow and gentle process so that you don’t tear your paper and hurt your mummy!

2. Tape the yarn on to the back of your mummy, and begin wrapping it around the paper until it covers as much of the mummy as possible

3. Add fun features like googly eyes with glue, or hair by taping on short strands of yarn

4. If you want to add any color, draw on the yarn with markers. Have fun making your mummies!

8. Spider Web Macrame

Spider Web Macrame is an amazing project for a wide range of ages during spooky season! Using laser cut webs, this project is wonderful as a wall hanging or ornament! Practice your macrame and fine motor skills with this craft and get ready for Halloween!

What You Will Need:

• Laser cut spider web pieces

• Yarn (Variety of colors)

• Coloring Supplies (posca pens are great!)

• Scissors

• Googly eyes

• Hot Glue

• Fabric scraps (optional)

• Beads

• Pipe Cleaners

Instructions:

1. Begin by coloring your spider web! This can be any color you want, and a great time to add a unique design

2. Select your yarn colors and cut out long strips all roughly the same length

3. You can additionally cut thin fabric strips in a similar length!

4. Grab your first piece of yarn or fabric, and weave it through the bottom of the spider web. This is done by folding your piece of yarn in half, and poking it through the hole. Then, you will pull the two loose ends of your yarn through the loop you just created

5. Continue this process until you reach the end of your spider web

6. Now you can add macrame knots, or tie beads to your pieces of yarn!

7. You can also create pom poms and add googly eyes and pipe cleaners to create spiders that hang from your spider web!

9. Yayoi Kusama Pumpkins

This craft is inspired by the famous artist Yayoi Kusama! Have fun decorating your pumpkins with dots for a unique piece of art! This is a great and simple take home project for kids in the fall - and accessible for a wide range of ages!

What You Will Need:

• Black and Orange paper

• Scissors

• Glue

• Coloring supplies (black and white materials)

• Pencil

• Ruler

Instructions:

1. Begin by sketching out your pumpkin shapes on the orange piece of paper

2. Cut the pumpkins out, and glue them onto your black piece of paper

3. Add lines and details to your pumpkins, and then add polka dots!

4. Using a white crayon or pencil, draw a geometric design onto the background! This is a great time to practice using a ruler for straight lines!

10. Toilet Paper Roll Bats

It’s Frickin’ Bats, I love Halloween! This project is super fun and a great way to use recycled materials for a fun spooky decoration! This project can be done with young ages, and is a great time to show off your student or kids work in a classroom or home!

What You Will Need:

• Toilet paper rolls

• Black paint

• Paint brushes/sponges

• Paint palettes, cups, and a washable mat

• Black paper

• Scissors

• Glue/tape

• Googly eyes

• Pencil

• Yarn/String

Instructions:

1. Begin by collecting your toilet paper rolls! You will be painting these entirely black and allowing them to dry!

2. While your rolls are drying, draw some bat wing shapes on your black pieces of paper! You can use pattern pieces that are pre-made and then used as a guide for cutting

3. When your rolls are dry, you can tape or glue on your wings as well as googly eyes! Feel free to add any other fun details and get creative!

4. Add yarn or string onto your rolls by taping one end on, and then tie a loop onto the other end of the string. You can now hang these up and watch your bats fly around the room!

STEM Fall Classes and Camps!

Fall is full of amazing maker magic with our wonderful STEM studio classes and enchanted Maker Camps! We offer a wide range of studio classes from Sewing and Textiles, to Painting and Drawing, and so much more! Our Seasonal Camps explore all realms of STEM and are filled with super fun themed activities and crafts!

Sign up Here for an upcoming studio class or join us for all of fall!

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