Leaf Rubbings

I have a great view of the mountains near my house. (The canyon is only 5 minutes away.) So when the leaves start changing I get a front row seat!

We took a drive up the canyon with our kids the other night and they kept saying, "It looks like a painting up here!" I couldn't agree more. The canyons are so beautiful right now!

While we were up there we collected leaves for a project I like to do every year -- Leaf Rubbings. I'm sure you've all seen this before. It's a fun and easy project you can do with your kids no matter what their age. I've done this a bunch of times with my kids. And even as they get older, they still seam to enjoy it.

So, here's all you need: Broken crayons with the papers torn off of them, any size/color paper you choose -- I prefer brown postal wrap (you could also use the inside of a paper grocery sack) or white butcher paper, and any size/shape of leaves you can find.

Directions: Put a leaf under your paper with the right side up, lay your crayon sideways on the paper, and rub until your leaf starts coming through. Voila! Instant fall leaf pictures! (I find it easier to do one leaf at a time.)

I turned our masterpieces into place mats for our dinner table. My local copy store charges less than $2.00 for hard lamination sized 11" by 17" -- the perfect place mat size.

Once upon a time I had visions of doing these rubbings from the leaves of the trees from each of the houses we have lived in and then framing them some cool way. It hasn't happened, but I still think it would've been a cool way to have something from the many places/cities we have lived.