Hellobee

When spring comes along, I’m so eager for sunshine and kids are especially ready to get outside again. When you walk through your yard or neighborhood, you’re likely to see new growth, as well as a few bits of nature left from the previous seasons.

Celebrate our beautiful world and the plants and trees around us by collecting some of the things you find and making them into art! This is a good opportunity to get out for a walk, but also to teach your child which types of nature items are safe and appropriate to touch or take with them. After you’ve found some twigs and leaves, bring them home to get creative together!

You will need:

Twigs
Large leaves
Paint and paintbrush
String or yarn
Embroidery hoop or other ring

A note on paint: acrylic paint will result in vibrant colors, but it’s not the best choice for young children. I’ve used standard tempera paint here. Washable tempera will work, but the colors come out much more muted. Choose what is best for your child(ren).

Select a few of your favorite twigs and trim them to about 12 inches long. You may be able to just snap them off to the size you want, or use pruners or utility shears.

Let your child(ren) paint the twigs however they want. I went for stripes/bands with some of the natural branch showing, but they can get really creative with these!

A thick coat of paint will take longer to dry, but the colors come out bold and bright in just the one coat.

Give the twigs some time to dry.

While you wait, you could do some more painting on the extra pieces. Use them to make little arrangements in flower pots, as handles for flags, or just for the process of making them pretty!

When the paint is dry, tie a 12-inch piece of string to each twig.

Tie each twig onto the bottom of the hoop. Space them and alter the height however you and your kids like.

Tie a shorter piece of string to a leaf and attach it to the top of the hoop so it hangs in the center.

Make a loop of string to use as a hanger and tie it at the top.

Your nature mobile is ready to display! You can hang it away from the wall so it can twist and move in the breeze, or place it on the wall so it looks a bit like a dreamcatcher.

Either way, it’s a great way to have some of the outdoors AND some kid art all in one place.

Happy crafting!