What You’ll Need

• Paper
• Crayons, with their paper wrappings removed
• Fallen leaves

What You'll Do

1. Lay the leaf, vein side up, on a flat surface.
2. Cover the leaf with a piece of paper.
3. Rub the long side of the crayon across the leaf, and watch the leaf image appear.

Try These Variations

• Rub different types of leaves on the same page.
• Position the same leaf at different angles to make a repeat pattern, as if designing wallpaper or fabric.
• Overlap rubbings for a layered effect.
• Use different colored crayons in the same rubbing.

When Finished

• Make a book of your leaf rubbings, adding a name label to each leaf.
• Cut out your rubbings and arrange them in a collage.
• “Frame” your rubbing by gluing it onto a larger piece of colored construction paper.

Other Options

• Ready to branch out? Anything with a slightly raised surface and an interesting texture can be rubbed: sandpaper, corrugated cardboard, paper doilies, mesh netting, the raised pattern on the edge of a dinner plate, address numbers on your front door, a cookie-cooling rack.
• For a spiral effect, make a multitude of overlapping circles using different colored crayons. To start, lay paper atop a cup or jar. Rub paper with a crayon so the edge of the cup appears. Reposition the paper on different-sized cups and jars and repeat until your paper is full of circles.