Fall Fun

This girl loves crafts.

Every day when Noni naps she asks to make a craft so I am constantly thinking of fun, quick and inexpensive things that we can make.

Fall has been a great season for crafts!

We started out with a book that taught Ruby (and us) all of the chemicals that make the leaves change color.

Chlorophyll is green

Xanthophyll is yellow

Annin is brown

Anthocyanin is purple/red

Carotene is orange.

(in case you were all wondering)

She was so interested in the colors and the chemicals that we thought we needed to go out and collect all the colors and shapes of leaves that we could find.

So we headed out for FHE one day and collected TONS of leaves.  

 So what to do with them?

Well I brought out the wax paper first and thought that we could iron the leaves in between them and then hang them.  Well that was an epic fail- it didn't work and just looked terrible.  So I pulled out the trusty mod podge and we went to work.

Ruby mod podged some onto a duotang....

 And with the rest we just modpodged them separately and hung them to dry.  I had gotten to packages of clothes pins from a lady at church and was glad to find a use for them!

We decided that we would hang them in our window as garland and decoration.  Ruby liked to hit them with a ruler- she thought it was fun- and of course Myers wanted to join in on the fun too!

 That did not satisfy Ruby's craving however, so we moved onto the next craft the next FHE.  Painting glass pumpkins.  It was really fun.  Look at how serious Ruby's face is- isn't that just precious?  I love her.

 Myers even got to paint his own- 

 Until he decided to eat it.  He was so fast there was no way to even stop him!

 They turned out great and we put a candle in each of them and lit them up for halloween...

The far left is Noni's- we gave him a second chance with the paint- that also did not last very long.  Then there is Justin's- he calls him chompers.  Then our carved pumpkin (it has a mustache and a round mouth...  I know it doesn't look quite right, Justin did it for me...).  Then there is mine- I like to call him evil chompers (I have a small obsession with mustache crafts.  I think they are cool but they never turn out quite right... If I am going to be honest then I must tell you that I painted another face on the back of my jar and on the back of Justin's, all with mustaches, ALL UGLY.  I thought maybe I would be lucky enough to inherit some of my mom's painting skills- turns out I didn't...)  and then Ruby's- she was doing great but then got carried away with the black- painting is just too much fun!  I still think it is great and it looks a little bit like a spider...

And now for our last fall craft of the season- for it will now be thanksgiving and Christmas oriented crafts- an acorn covered hanging ball.

As well as the mustache obsession I have a decorative ball obsession.  I think they look cool.  So when we were out walking one day and we came across a gold mine of acorns I just knew I could find a use for them!  Ruby, Myers and I gathered up as many as we could and filled our pockets and then headed home.  A couple days later I got a Styrofoam ball and my trusty glue gun and the acorn ball was born.  Ruby even got in on the fun.  I still haven't decided if I am going to spray paint it or not- but a part of me really loves it.  Another part of me- not so much.  I'm still torn.

Fall has been good to us.  I love the falls out here they just seem more real....slower.  You can really take the time to enjoy the weather and the leaves and the smells.  I fear winter is coming too soon....