G has been getting into rubbings. He likes rubbing textures from outside - bark, table tops, wood, concrete. So, of course, rubbing leaves is pretty cool too. Today we did fall color rubbings of leaves from our maple tree.
You just get a leaf, tape it onto the table to keep still. Place a piece of paper over the leaf (we used nice resume paper since it was thicker with a light texture, yet not as thick as drawing/watercolor paper). You can tape the paper down a little too - keep it from moving. Then rub the leaf! We used stockmar block crayons - they work GREAT for rubbings and the colors are nice and intense, but you could also use unwrapped regular crayons.
The boys like to mix it up - so used a bunch of different colors. When the rubbing was done, they painted (using watercolors) a bit over the top using brown and red paint.
After they dry (I put into a book to help dry flat) you can cut them out and use them however you like. We have been making cards to send to family but they would be nice mounted and framed or on fall banners. They are very colorful and very fall!
19 comments:
very nice
I like your rectangle crayons
Jen
I still enjoy doing rubbings too. :)
We've done leaf rubbings before, but I never thought using several colors at once, and adding the watercolors on top...that makes them just come alive!
beautiful. we did leaf rubbings today as well. actually, i did leaf rubbings, the boys just couldnt' get into it. but i had fun!
those are some fantastic leaves...we did rubbings in our classroom...i just love the magic in this activity!
what a great idea to watercolor over the top...might give this a try at a center in the classroom...the kids love to explore with all kinds of art materials.
thanks for being so inspiring!!!
those are some fantastic leaves...we did rubbings in our classroom...i just love the magic in this activity!
what a great idea to watercolor over the top...might give this a try at a center in the classroom...the kids love to explore with all kinds of art materials.
thanks for being so inspiring!!!
These are just beautiful! I almost thought they were the real thing...
hello?
you said you dry them in a book--how does that work with wet paint? I'm having one of those mornings where I keep missing things, so if it's obvious, please excuse me.
my 2.5 year old loves the stuff we do from your site. we're also planning to unschool. . . we haven't tried rubbings yet. i think it's something he'd really enjoy. he's just starting to notice textures and take an interest. and it would be nice to have some decorations around the house. i think we've overdone the handprint. :)
Wow, they look like real leaves when they were done. Very beautiful!
I want to do some grave stone rubbings soon with my daughter. I just love the art and history in the graveyards.
shawna - I always just fold wax paper or freezer paper and then insert it into a book for the weight. I do that for pressing plants as well as drying damp paper. Since I used thinner paper for this the watercolor paints caused only a little warping, so I put it in the book to finish drying, but let it air dry a little first (so it wasn't soaking or anything). :)
We did this exact same thing yesterday! Only we put ours in the window for decoration.
My daughter had a little trouble with the crayons though, I think the square ones would fix that. I'll have to keep an eye out for those.
Wow! Those turned out just great!
Thanks Denise! That makes sense. And sorry for the question mark after hello. It makes the whole Q seem a bit snarky. It was supposed to be an exclamation point. Like I said, not firing on all cylinders today. :)
OH this looks like fun! We will surely do this :)
So pretty! I love the way you used several colors on each leaf. And I love that smile!
What a great idea. I just stumbled on your site and really look forward to doing some of these with my own boys. :)
Thanks.
so cute I forgot all about this. We must give it a shot in the group. His turned out great!!
Gorgeous. We love leaf rubbings but never thought to cut them out before. We'll be giving that a try next week along with some waxed dipped leaves. Thanks.
I love reading about your projects!
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