Leaves, Twigs and Glue

Are you wondering what to do with that big pile of leaves in your backyard? Do you have a few leaves and twigs that didn't make it into this year's leaf bags?


Well then simply gather some leaves (different shapes, colours and sizes), small twigs, glue, a piece of heavy paper or cardboard, safety scissors, paint, brushes, water and construction paper (optional).
 
Ready, set go and create a background by painting your cardboard in the colour (or colours) of your choice.
Instead of painting, you might choose to glue down construction paper. 

Great! 

When the background is prepared, start laying out your leaves and twigs in the shape of a person. Choose a larger leaf for the head and smaller leaves for the hands and feet. You may need to do some cutting and rearranging to come up with something you like. 

When you are happy with how your leaf person looks, glue all the pieces onto your background. 


Finally, you can use construction paper scraps, beads or paint to add details to your creation. 

Tip: If you have the leaves (and the time) you could create a giant leaf person by drawing or tracing a body shape onto paper and gluing leaves all over to fill in the space!

According to the fine folks at the US Environmental Protection Agency, mulched up leaves can provide valuable nutrients and improve soil in flower beds and gardens. The Agency also says that in any given year, approximately 30 million tons of yard trimmings (grass, leaves, tree and brush clippings) are created in the United States. Now that's a lot of raking!

Lesson: Andrea Mulder-Slater

Illustration: Geoff Slater