Nature Paper

Another crafty make this time- Nature Paper, but we managed to combine this one with another of our summer holiday activities -  a Scavenger Hunt.
I've made up a number of bingo style cards with 9 different images of things Mini is likely to find whilst we're out walking - ants, cars, postboxes, double yellow lines, trees, birds etc etc, and sometimes when we go out he takes a card and a pencil and gets a little treat (usually a small pack of Haribo or something similar) when he gets all 9.

Last week, the activity was to complete the scavenger hunt on the way to the shop, and on the way back we had to collect a variety of natural objects - leaves, large and small; petals; flowers; seed heads; feathers; grasses etc with which to make nature paper. At the time though Mini just knew that we needed lots of different bits for a project. The anticipation of what it could be, was enough to keep his interest on a 20minute walk. And I was able to do 'the talk' about picking/not picking, dangerous/safe and not eating berries when you don't know what they are!

What you need:

Natural objects, as mentioned above. Enough to fill a small cereal bowl should be enough.
Sticky backed plastic (also known as contact paper)
Patience

This is definitely a craft to do with your children - they will get in a pickle without your help.

Lay out all your nature finds so you can quickly see what you have.

Cut two squares of sticky backed plastic, roughly the same size - about 30cm square(ish).

Unpeel the backing off one piece of plastic and carefully distribute your finds all over the sticky side, leaving some space in between (you'll see why shortly). Make sure they are pressed down firmly.

When happy with your design/pattern, carefully unpeel the backing on the other piece of plastic and lay the sticky sides together, pressing it firmly down, especially in the gaps between the items. This will ensure the plastic stays stuck together. Trim off any excess sticky backed plastic.

Now you have nature paper - you can use it to decorate cards, or as we did - make suncatchers. Experiment with fresh/dried leaves, or fresh/pressed flowers and see what works best and looks nicest.