Nature-Friendly Arts & Crafts

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Are you stuck at home with kids who need some entertainment? Try one of these fun, natural crafts that you can make with items you have at home- no shopping trip required!



Each craft can be made with only items that you probably have at home and in your backyard or neighborhood park. We've included work-around options in case you don't have some of these supplies and don't want to make a special trip to the store!

If you do gather natural materials from a public area, remember to practice social distancing, even outdoors, with those who don't live in your household. Be mindful of nature and don't take too much of anything- and remember, if you're on a Hillsborough County Nature Preserve or at a county or state park, all plants and animals are protected and shouldn't be disturbed. 



Pine Cone Bird Feeder


Peanutbutter pine cone bird feeder, Bradley West, CC BY 2.0


Over 500 species of birds can be found in Florida. Some migrate here from the tropics or the north, and some stay year-round. This bird feeder will probably attract smaller songbirds such as cardinals, robins, blue jays, chickadees and sparrows. Hang the feeder near a window and keep your camera ready! Keep an eye out for small mammals as well as birds- your feeder will likely attract some squirrels too.

WhatBird.com has a great step-by-step bird I.D. program, or you can search for birds by color.



What you'll need:

  • Pine cone of any size 
    • you can also use a toilet paper roll or paper towel roll- just make sure you throw it away after the birds are done with it!
  • Something to hang the pine cone up with
    • the best option is a thin strip of palmetto leaf, strong grass, or a flexible plant stem. Yarn is not a great option.
  •  Peanut butter - without artificial sweeteners like xylitol
    • If you don't have peanut butter or have a family member who's allergic, you can also use suet or shortening, lard, sun butter, or almond butter. 
  • Bird seed
    • if you don't have bird seed, you can use uncooked PLAIN oatmeal (try crushing it up into smaller pieces), dried fruit cut into small pieces, raisins, and sunflower, pumpkin, or squash seeds (try drying them out in the oven first).


Instructions:

  • Use a knife or spoon to  coat the pine cone or cardboard roll with peanut butter.
  • Roll the pine cone in birdseed or the food you've picked; if you have larger pieces of raisin or dried fruit, you can stick them on separately.
  • Tie your palmetto, grass, or plant stem to the top of the pine cone. If you're using a cardboard roll, you'll want to make a hole near the top to hang it up.
  • Hang your bird feeder somewhere you can see it and enjoy the view!
  • If you've used any cardboard or man-made components, remember to take them down when the birds have finished with the feeder.
  • If you've used a pine cone, you can re-fill it with peanut butter and seeds and use it over and over again!

Leaf Prints




Help your family explore your neighborhood's amazing plant diversity by making leaf prints! Search for leaves of different shapes and sizes, with differently-arranged veins and different edges. Have a contest to see who can find the biggest leaf, the smallest leaf, and the leaf with the most unique shape! Just remember to warn everybody about poison ivy- leaves of three, let it be.

You can also look for other natural items to make prints of. Flowers, twigs, seedpods, and grasses all make pretty prints. There's no limit to what you can paint!


What you'll need:

  • Paint - preferably acrylic or washable.
    •  If you don't have paint, there are plenty of ways to make it- follow this recipe to make egg tempura paint, or google "make kid-friendly paint" to find lots of other recipes!
  • Natural objects like leaves, grass stems, twigs, or seed pods
  • Paper
  • Plastic bag or newspaper to cover your work space- this will get messy!
  • Wipes or paper towels for hand cleaning

Instructions:

  • Collect your leaves.
  • Cover your work space with newspaper or plastic.
  • Paint the underside of a leaf. Make sure to use only a thin coat of paint, or your leaf print will be a blob!
  • Place the painted leaf on the paper and gently press to transfer the paint evenly.
  • Carefully peel the leaf up.
  • Continue with more leaves or other natural objects until your masterpiece is complete!
  • You can also do this using fabric and a fabric-safe paint to make curtains, pillow covers, or long-lasting wall decorations.

Twig Vase






This vase is a pretty way to showcase flowers, colorful grasses, interesting seed pods, and other decorative things you might find in your back yard! It's also a decoration all on its own. Put it in your kitchen to use as a utensil holder, or in your bathroom to hold your toothbrushes or combs. It'll remind you of the outdoors even when you're stuck inside!

This is the quickest, least messy activity out of all of our craft options (at least, if you don't use glue). If you have ten minutes and want to throw together a fun craft, this is the activity for you!



What you'll need:

  • An empty jar
  • Rubber bands that fit comfortably around the jar
  • Lots of twigs
  • Ribbon, twine, or colorful yarn
  • Optional: glue (If you want your vase to last longer)


Instructions:

  • Break or cut your twigs so they're only an inch or so taller than the jar.
  • Put two rubber bands around the jar- one about an inch below the top, one about an inch above the bottom.
  • Put a twig on the jar and tuck each end under the rubber bands.
  • Continue until all of the twigs are secured to the jar.
  • Roll the rubber bands towards each other until they're both right in the middle of the jar. 
  • Tie a ribbon, twine, or yarn around the jar and twigs until you can't see the rubber bands. Either glue the ends together or make a big and beautiful bow!
  • Optional: Use hot glue or wood glue (be careful- wood glue expands a lot) to attach your twigs to your container for a more permanent twig vase.


Grapevine Wreath





Florida is covered in vines; some, like grapevine and Virginia creeper, are native, and some are non-native and invasive. Native or not, vines can make great craft ingredients!

This wreath can be made with grapevine from your backyard or neighborhood park. You can also use Virginia creeper, arrowhead vine, golden pothos, jasmine, or passion flower vine. Just make sure that you have permission to take the vine, and don't take too much. Remember- poison ivy is also a vine, and it may not have leaves on it yet. If you see a bare vine or a vine with three leaves, let it be! It's better to be safe than sorry, and nobody wants an itchy rash when they're stuck at home.

Attached are pictures of grapevine, Virginia creeper, golden pothos, and arrowhead vine- all very common in backyards and parks. Golden pothos and arrowhead vine are non-native invasive plants, so please use them if you find them! Virginia creeper and grapevine are native plants that grow very quickly and can recover easily from being pruned, but please be mindful not to take too much.



What you'll need:

  • Plenty of vines!
    • the amount depends on how big you want your wreath to be. You can use lots of shorter pieces and wind them together if you need to, but you do need one piece long enough to form a circle for the base of your wreath.
  • Any other decorative items you want to use- silk flowers, toy Easter eggs, colorful berries or leaves, ribbon, etc.

Instructions:

  • Make one loop of vine into a circle. Start wrapping the long end around the circle.
  • When you reach the end, hold it in place. 
  • Tuck the end of another piece of vine into the wreath a little before where you finished wrapping the last one. Keep wrapping it around, making sure to tuck the loose end tightly in.
  • Continue until your wreath is as big as you want it to be (or you're out of vines!)
  • Tuck the last loose end tightly into the wreath.
  • Decorate if you want to!


Grapevine


Virginia creeper


Golden pothos



Arrowhead vine




Pressed Flowers




Spring is a beautiful time here in Florida. Wildflowers are blooming, leaves are budding, and the outdoor world is colorful and bright. Bring some of that natural color indoors by pressing leaves and flowers to make colorful, natural window decorations!

You don't have to find huge, showy flowers for this craft- in fact, the tiny wildflowers that grow on your lawn or in your neighborhood park work great. This is a good excuse to pay close attention to the tiny plants around you- you may be surprised at how many wildflowers grow near your house that you've never noticed before! You don't have to limit yourself to flowers, either. Look for brightly colored leaves from last fall, interestingly shaped or sized plants, or pretty grass seed-heads. Any plant that catches your fancy will work for this craft, but delicate or flat plants work best.

You can use this to make lots of different items like bookmarks, wall decorations, clear window hangers, or postcards to send to family. The choices are endless!



What you'll need:

  • Pretty or eye-catching leaves or flowers
  • Wax paper
    • If you don't have wax paper, you can still press flowers, but you won't be able to seal them as well.
  • An iron
    • If you don't have an iron, you can still press flowers, but it'll take much longer.
  • A towel, thick paper, and/or newspaper
  • Regular printer paper, card stock, or decorative paper (If you want to make a bookmark, postcard, or wall decoration)
  • Glue (if you don't have wax paper, or if you want to glue your creation to card stock or decorative paper.)


Instructions:



If you have wax paper and an iron:

  • Pre-heat your iron to a high setting and make sure there's no water in it.
  • Use an ironing board; lay paper or newspaper on top to protect the surface from the wax.
    • If you don't have an ironing board, lay a towel and a thick layer of printer paper or some newspaper on a table or the floor to protect from heat.
  • Lay wax paper on top, shiny side up. Place your flowers and leaves in a decorative pattern, as flat as you can get them. You may have to cut flowers to get them to lay flat. 
  • Lay another sheet of wax paper on top of flowers, shiny side down (the flowers should be sandwiched between the shiny sides of the wax paper).
  • Put a towel or thick sheet of paper on top of the wax paper.
  • Iron over the towel or paper QUICKLY- don't leave the iron in one place too long or the wax will melt and the wax paper won't stick together properly. 
  • Continue ironing in quick strokes until the wax paper is sealed together.
  • Cut your masterpiece into whatever shape you like! You can attach twine to it and hang it in a window for the light to come through, glue it to a bookmark or postcard, or frame it and hang it on the wall.


If you have an iron, but no wax paper:

  • Be aware that this method will only work for thinner and more delicate specimens, and will remove some color from plants and flowers.
  • Pre-heat your iron to a LOW setting and make sure there's no water in it.
  • Lay down some newspaper or a towel, then a sheet of printer paper.
  • Arrange your flowers and leaves on the paper as flat as you can get them. You may have to cut flowers to get them to lay flat.
  • Lay another sheet of printer paper on top of flowers and leaves.
  • Flatten the paper and flowers with a heavy book until they lay flat.
  • Press the iron quickly over the paper multiple times, making sure not to leave it on the paper long. 
    • If you're worried about the heat, you can put a thin towel between the paper and the iron.
  • Continue pressing until the flowers are dry and crisp.
  • Glue the flowers to a sheet of paper and hang or frame them!


If you don't have wax paper or an iron:

  • Place flowers between two sheets of printer paper or card stock, making sure they're covered all the way.
  • Close paper with flowers in the pages of a book, or place on top of one book and put more books on top.
    •  Make sure the flowers are completely enclosed in paper so that moisture doesn't leak out and ruin your book.
  • Place books or heavy objects on top of the pressed flowers.
  • Leave them for several days to a week- most flowers and leaves will take only a few days, but larger plants or flowers with a high moisture content could take a week or more to dry.
  • Remove the plants when they're dry and glue them to a sheet of paper to hang up or frame!


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