Autumnal Art & Craft Ideas

Now that the season of mists and mellow fruitfulness is upon us, you may be feeling a bit down. The summer sun has vanished, to be replaced by torrential rain and chilly winds. The trees and plants that were recently blossoming and blooming are starting to look brown, bare and shrivelled and your shorts, flipflops and bikinis have been confined to the back of the wardrobe. Oh and your stuck in work or school again too! Now it's just downhill from here until next spring isn't it?

Not at all! Although you may have found summer fun and inspiring, there's so reason why autumn cannot be the same. Although autumn may make you think of things decaying and coming to the end, really it is all part of a cycle of death and rebirth and there's so many good things about it-cosy evenings in by the fireside, fireworks, bonfires, dressing up for Halloween, carving pumpkins, candy, rich warm foods, the sound of leaves crunching underfoot.

Okay, so what does this have to do with being creative? Well, my point is that autumn is a great time to start an art or writing project because:

1) There are lots of natural resources lying around that you can now use in your artwork, like leaves, twigs, moss, bark, feathers, conkers and pine cones.

2) Autumn brings with it new, richer colours-warm reds and vibrant oranges that will bring your pictures and poetry to life. There are also some interesting textures-spiky conkers and pine cones and crispy leaves that give you a challenge to draw or describe.

3) The bad weather and lack of barbecues and parties means you will have plenty of rainy days to fill, so why not use them to be creative?

4) Firework displays and bonfires provide the opportunity to experiment with capturing light and flames in your artwork and photography.

5) Autumn provides a lot of writing opportunities too. Lots of poems have been written to celebrate autumn and the wonderful colours, tastes, textures, sounds and smells that come with the season.

Here are some ideas for artistic projects you could try:

• Make an autumn collage using natural resources.
• Have a go at making words out of twigs and holding them together with wire. You can then use them as a door sign or hang them up on the wall.
• Make a picture of an autumn landscape using any medium you like, trying to capture the colours and textures.
• Bake some spooky food such as cupcakes for Halloween or use crazy coloured food colouring to make something gruesome looking. Visit Pinterest for some fantastic Halloween food ideas.
• Write a poem about autumn mentioning all five senses. Alternatively you could try an acrostic poem or write a poem in the shape of a leaf.
• Try painting a tiny picture onto a leaf and then varnishing it. You could give it to someone as a gift or stick onto a greetings card.
• You could paint a picture onto a stone and use it as a paperweight.
• Have a go at creating your own firework display using chalks, pastels or a digital program.
• Find a piece of bark or leaf and make a rubbing of the texture by placing a piece of paper over it and gently rubbing with a crayon.
• Have a go at pumpkin carving. You don't have to stick to a traditional jack'o lantern.You can carve any shape or design you like. Check out Pinterest for some creative pumpkin designs.

Here is a scrapbook page I did in Photoshop:

What are your favourite autumn craft projects?