Leaf prints are a beautiful way to preserve a bit of fall. They can be used on so many projects including wall art, home decor, and a variety of crafts for kids. and adults too. We were inspired today by the beautiful colors of fall and we found in amazing leaves right in our own yard.

You’ll also want to check out this DIY fall wreath, these adorable fall mason jar crafts, and some fall coloring pages. All are inspired by the beautiful changes in the trees and colors of fresh leaves this time of year.

We used acrylic paint in bottles as it is our favorite craft paint, lots of wax paper and a brayer (our fingers worked just as well, but my 3 year old had fun with the “special roller”) You could also use a cup or bottle with smooth sides as your “roller.” And of course, we spent some time outside finding the perfect leaves for our leaf printing ideas. 

My daugher painted the back of the leaf.  My job was to check and make sure she painted to the edges and smooth out any globs of paint. You don’t want too much paint, just a nice even coat. The amount of paint varies also by what your are printing on—the fabric took a bit more paint than the paper.

Place leaf paint side down on what you want to print. We printed a canvas bag we had and a kitchen towel (not pictured). Cover leaf with a piece of wax paper. I held the wax paper down over the leaf (to keep the leaf from flying around -remember my craft partner is 3) while she used the brayer to smooth out the leaf. I told her to press hard. We had good luck using our fingers to press the leaf onto the surface also.

Remove your leaf and you have a beautiful print. After a few tries you will get the hang of how much paint to use.

We just loved this diy leaf print on canvas! If you are printing on fabric iron after the paint dries (with a press cloth) to set the paint. If my child could write I thought it would be cute for her to write “I am thankful for you” and I would embroider over her letters. It would make a cute gift for a teacher or someone special. Maybe it will have to be in my handwriting this year.

We also used our leaf print art to make some gift tags for some November baking we plan to do.

I would love to keep you fully stocked with creative ideas, yummy recipes, fun crafts, and loads of free printables. Subscribe to Skip to my Lou to get new ideas delivered to your inbox. Follow me on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, and Instagram for all my latest updates.


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Comments

  1. Great idea! We made bags a couple of weeks ago with apple prints but I didn’t think of leaves. I’m trying to find as many leaf projects as possible to try and get rid of some of ours.

  2. So cute! My 8 yr old son enjoys bringing me home leaves everyday lately and will love this project. I think the tags are adorable. Thanks!

  3. Your bag turned out beautifully. I recently did some leaf painting and it’s such a fun and easy technique.

    Lots of great projects here and your site is a pleasure to browse. I’ll be sure to pop in and visit you again to see what you’re up to.

  4. This project is FANTASTIC! I will have to try this with my DD. She will absolutely love it. Thanks for another great idea!

  5. My mom used to do this with us! I have great memories of it. I especially love the gift tags–I think the paper takes the paint a bit better than the fabric does.

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