The awesome thing about watercolours, is that no matter how slap-dash your kid is with them, the result always looks like fancy art. I exploited this fact to make a very pretty autumn garland with Arty this week. He’s loving playing with autumn leaves at the moment, exclaiming over their varied colours and shapes, so this seemed timely. 
Watercolour autumn garland
What you need:
- Liquid watercolour paints in red and yellow
- Water
- Paintbrushes
- Paper (using a heavier weight paper will allow your kids to be a bit freer with their application of paint and water without tearing it)
- A pencil
- Some scissors (for grown-ups)
- some twine or string
- Mama Finch leaf templates (free PDF printable)
What to do:
- Print out the leaf template PDF, and cut out the leaves. Use these to trace leaf shapes onto your paper.
![watercolour autumn garland with free printable]()
- Invite your child to paint over the leaves, colouring them beautiful autumn colours. As they paint, talk with them about how the colours blend, as well as the way the paint and water interact to spread the pigment over the page. Try brushes of different sizes and shapes, and experiment with varying proportions of water to paint.
![watercolour autumn garland with free printable]()
- Allow the painting to dry (I got impatient with this bit, and used a hairdryer).
- Cut out the leaves, thread them onto your twine, and hang.
What your kid’s doing:
- Learning about the properties of different media.
- Learning how primary colours blend to create secondary colours.
- Engaging with the colours and shapes of their natural environment, and learning about the seasons.
I’m properly pleased with how this garland looks. It’s seasonal and pretty, and we had fun making it. Perfect.