DIYs – making crafts with children from natural materials • catastrophic

In autumn there are so many great natural materials that children love to collect: colorful leaves, branches, pine cones, acorns, chestnuts, nuts,… Here I’ll show you a few ideas about what you can make of them together.
We’ve already had a few craft get-togethers with the kids. If you’re looking for ideas on what to make with kids in the fall, you’ve come to the right place!

You can do all of these crafts with children in the fall:

Make forest animals out of toilet rolls

• Toilet roll
• Pens
• Glue
• Leaves or pine cones

Cut the toilet paper roll to size and paint it – for example as a hedgehog or squirrel.
Then stick on leaves or a pine cone (preferably with hot glue). Super cute, right? You can also let the forest animal hold a nut or dried flowers.

Painting leaves

Use permanent markers to draw different patterns on leaves. For example, ginkgo leaves can become a beautiful butterfly. Or you can simply paint different graphic patterns in a Zentangle style… wonderfully relaxing!
The best way to do this is to pack your leaves into a leaf press after collecting them.

Painting chestnut hedgehogs

You can make cute little hedgehogs out of chestnuts! To do this, paint a few white lines on the dark brown part – the spines. On the lighter part of the chestnuts there is a small face in black and, if you like, the paws too.

… and even more chestnut ideas:

Of course you can also paint chestnuts in other ways! Here, for example, I tried a disco ball and an orange slice. The boys made funny sun faces and a ladybug out of them… Of course, just a few points are always possible. Or a spider web and a pumpkin face as Halloween decorations. What else can you think of?

Forest mobile + forest collage

You can also hang up the great natural finds from the forest. Simply tie it to branches with a thread and, if necessary, pierce it with a needle or drill holes.
Or you can stick them on a large craft cardboard, it looks great too! You can also use leaves to make beautiful animals, for example the mane of a lion.

Forest window for your finds

Cut a frame out of thick cardboard and stick it on the back with transparent adhesive tape. So you can attach your finds directly to it and end up with a beautiful forest collage. Great for your next trip!

My material tips

Which pens are particularly suitable?

I like to use water-based markers and have had good experiences with the pens from POCSA* (what a great set!) and Pilot Pintor.

What else is helpful for crafting with children in the fall?

Cover the table well – for example with a wax tablecloth or simply with some wrapping paper. Then it’s not a big deal if some glue or paint goes wrong.
We also think a hot glue gun or a handy hot glue stick (which the adults use), a leaf press and a chestnut drill are great.

Many of the products are currently on offer – take a look at my overview!

What have you made so far this fall?

Last updated on 2026-01-18 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API