Leaf Collage Sun Catchers Inspired by “A Pile of Leaves”

“A Pile of Leaves” by Jason Fulford and Tamara Shopsin

This board book is one that feels extra special the moment you open it and realize what it is.  The format is innovative in that each page is transparent with one or more silhouettes of leaves or items.  The effect of all the transparent collages stacked gives the illusion of a pile of leaves and it is so neat!

Another fun aspect of this little book is that as you turn the pages and “dig through the leaf pile” there are a few surprises that you uncover and “discover” such as an ant or two.    It’s one of those books that makes you think “I can’t believe no one has thought of this before!”

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Leaf Collage Sun Catchers

This book reminded me of how transparent contact paper is so popular for collages and sun catchers right now so I immediately thought of how fun it would be to re-create this book in a sense and make some “pile of leaf” frames of our own!  It worked like a charm and the result is a more literal version of the book, just missing the ants and some other fun goodies.  However, the finished product still works good for stacking and you can create a “pile of leaves” illusion of your own.

We had so much fun gathering our leaves for this project and it took just minutes to create.  They look so pretty on our windows and it is nice to have a little bit of Autumn in our home.   I also love that it is so easy that even the smallest artists can participate, yet interesting enough to captivate older artists as well.

And, bonus, if you make multiple collages then you can stack them on top of each other to create your own “pile of leaves” with an effect similar to the one in the book!  What’s not to love?!

Supplies:

• roll or sheet of clear contact paper (2 squares cut out for each craft)
• leaves (We used dry leaves so they crunched and broke a bit when pressed.  You can also use fresh leaves or pressed leaves if you want a “cleaner” outcome.  Actually, you could even use paper leaves or silk leaves!)
• fun wash tape (or any tape really for the edging)

Process:

• Lay a square of you contact paper out on a work surface sticky side up.
• Place leaves randomly all over the contact paper to the sticky surface.
• Place the second square of contact paper on top of the first one sticky side down and press so that it adheres to the other contact square sheet with the leaves securely in-between.  Smooth it out as best as you can.
• Use washi tape folded over the edges of all four sides to give a cleaner look.

If you give this “Beyond the Book” activity a try I’d love to hear how it goes! Share it on Instagram and tag me! (I’m on Instagram as @book.nerd.mommy) Or even just comment here with your thoughts, it would make my day! Or to save this activity for later pin the image below.