Nature crafts start in the forest and end at the kitchen table two days later, once the pine cones and leaves have dried. A two-year-old makes leaf prints and sticks things down, a four-year-old makes pine cone people and conker animals, a seven-year-old makes wreaths, mobiles and whole landscapes. Beyond what you have collected, you need glue, toothpicks, yarn, paint and an adult in charge of the glue gun.
A Wednesday in October, quarter to five, in a kitchen in Bromma. On the newspaper on the floor are forty pine cones, a bag of conkers and a pile of leaves starting to curl, all hauled home from the forest on Monday. The three-year-old wants to make a little man now. This is the craft almost every child loves, that costs nothing and can be done again every autumn. But it needs a little planning so it does not end in mouldy pine cones and glue on the table.
First: collect and dry
- Give each child their own bag and a mission: ten pine cones, five nice leaves, as many conkers as fit in their hands.
- Take what is on the ground. Not branches from trees, not moss in quantity, nothing in nature reserves where signs say so. Teach your child the difference.
- Shake off bugs and soil while you are still in the forest, so less comes indoors with you.
- Lay everything on a newspaper indoors for two or three days. Closed pine cones open up, the leaves become easier to handle and the glue sticks.
- Press leaves that need to be flat between newspaper pages under a pile of books, for a week.
What suits which age?
| Age | Does alone | With help | Adult does |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 to 3 years | Collecting, sorting, sticking leaves on paper, leaf prints with finger paint | Pine cone in a glass jar with glitter | Anything with scissors, glue that holds, the awl |
| 4 to 5 years | Pine cone people with glue and yarn, conker animals with toothpicks | Leaf crown with tape, mobile on a stick | Holes in conkers with an awl, glue gun |
| 6 to 8 years | Conker animals, leaf wreath, painted pine cones | Mobile, pine cone bird feeder | Glue gun under supervision |
| 9 to 12 years | Almost everything, including the glue gun under supervision | Bigger builds: landscape, boat, lantern | Stands by |
Ten crafts that work
- Leaf prints. Paint the underside of a leaf with finger paint and press it onto paper. From two years, and it looks good even when it gets messy.
- Pine cone person. A pine cone, an acorn cap or a conker as a head, yarn for hair, glue. From four with white glue, from two if an adult does the gluing.
- Conker animals. Conkers and toothpicks. An adult makes the holes with an awl, the child puts together legs, neck and head. Spiders, dogs, giraffes with long necks.
- Leaf crown. A strip of paper around the head, leaves taped all the way round. From three years, and everyone wants one.
- Mobile. A stick, yarn, pine cones, leaves and conkers hanging at different lengths. From four years, and it can hang in the window until Christmas.
- Bird feeder. A pine cone, cooking fat at room temperature, bird seed. Roll the cone in the fat and then in the seed, hang it on a string outside the window. From three years, and the birds will come.
- Painted pine cones. Watercolours or acrylics, glitter if you dare. From three years. Becomes Christmas decorations in December.
- Leaf wreath. A ring of wire or a bent willow branch, leaves and berries attached with thin wire. From six years, with help.
- Forest landscape. A shoebox lid, moss, pine cones, sticks and little conker animals that live there. From five years, and it can keep growing for weeks.
- Nature picture. Leaves, birch bark, seeds and pine cone scales glued onto cardboard to make a face, an animal or a pattern. All ages, and it turns out different every time.
Glue, tools and what actually sticks
Ordinary white craft glue works on leaves, paper and thin things, but not on pine cones and conkers, where the surface is too uneven. There you need a glue gun, and it is hot. We let children under about eight point to where the glue should go while an adult squeezes. From eight, under supervision. Toothpicks and matchsticks are better than glue for conker animals: an adult makes the holes with an awl, the child pushes in the legs. Thin wire, yarn and tape solve almost everything else.
What usually goes wrong
- The pine cones go mouldy. They were not dry. Two days on newspaper, somewhere warm, solves it.
- The glue does not stick. Wrong glue for the material. White glue on leaves, glue gun on pine cones, toothpicks in conkers.
- The child loses interest after ten minutes. Normal for a two-year-old. Let it be, and leave the materials on the table so they can start again later.
- It turns into an adult's product. You have taken over to make it look nice. Let go. A pine cone person with its head on sideways is still a pine cone person.
- The leaves crumble. They dried for too long or in too much heat. Pressed leaves hold up better, and fresh leaves can be used the same day for prints.
From autumn to Christmas
What you make in October becomes Christmas decorations in December. Painted pine cones in a bowl, a mobile in the window, pine cone people in the tree. Save the good ones in a shoebox, and bring them out in Advent together with new Christmas crafts for children. Children love seeing their things come back, and you get out of buying decorations.
How we do it with our families
Esther looks after a family in Bromma with a three-year-old and a six-year-old, and in autumn Monday's walk goes to Judarskogen with a bag each. Wednesday is craft day: newspaper on the table, the dried materials in a box, white glue for the three-year-old and the glue gun in her own hands. The three-year-old makes leaf prints and sticks pine cones in a jar, the six-year-old builds a landscape in a shoebox lid that stays out and grows for weeks. The note to the parents says where the craft is drying and that the six-year-old wants more moss next Monday. Having the same nanny every week is what keeps the project together from forest to kitchen table.
Would you like a nanny who comes on the same days every week and whom the children know? Book a free first meeting with the nanny in your home, and we will work out a quote for your hours.
Read more: Crafts for kids · Autumn break in Stockholm with kids · Christmas crafts for children · FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Do you have to dry the materials before crafting?
Yes, a couple of days on a newspaper at room temperature, otherwise pine cones and leaves go mouldy and the glue will not stick. Closed pine cones open up in the warmth and look nicer. Conkers do not need drying, but they shrivel after a few weeks, so conker animals have a short shelf life.
Which glue works on pine cones and conkers?
A glue gun holds best but is hot, so an adult handles it for children under about eight. Ordinary white craft glue works on leaves, paper and birch bark but holds poorly on pine cones. For conkers, toothpicks or matchsticks are better than glue; they go into holes made with an awl that the adult holds.
What can a two-year-old do?
Collect, sort and stick. Leaf prints with finger paint, a pine cone in a glass with glitter, leaves on sticky paper. A two-year-old does not make a figure, they make an experience, and that is exactly as it should be. Expect twenty minutes and a kitchen that needs wiping down.
Are you allowed to take things home from the forest?
Pine cones, leaves, conkers, acorns, fallen branches and berries are fine to take under allemansrätten (the Swedish right of public access). Do not break branches off living trees, do not take moss in large quantities and pick nothing in nature reserves where signs say so. Teach your child the difference between what is on the ground and what is growing.
How long do the crafts last?
Pine cone people and leaf prints last for months if the material was dry. Conker animals shrivel after a few weeks and are not worth keeping. Take a photo of everything your child has made, and keep what you really want. The rest goes back out to the compost or the forest.