20 Nature Art Projects for Kids (Using Leaves, Flowers & Found Objects)

Children can create stunning art using materials found right outside — leaves, flowers, sticks, stones, bark, seeds, and mud. Nature art projects teach observation, creativity, and a connection to the natural world while keeping children engaged outdoors. The 20 projects below range from simple leaf prints suitable for toddlers to intricate nature weaving for older kids, organized by season and difficulty so you can find the right project for any age and any time of year. All you need is a walk outside and a willingness to get a little messy.

Before You Begin: Ethical Foraging with Kids

Teach children these simple guidelines before collecting natural materials for art:

• Take only what is abundant. If there are three pinecones under a tree, take one. If there are fifty, take a handful.
• Never pick from living plants without permission. Collect fallen leaves, dropped petals, and windfall sticks instead.
• Leave some for wildlife. Acorns feed squirrels. Berries feed birds. Always leave enough behind.
• Stay on trails in parks and protected areas. Some environments are too fragile for foraging.
• Wash hands after handling soil, berries, or unfamiliar plants.

These habits build ecological awareness alongside creativity.

Spring Projects

1. Flower Petal Collage

Ages: 2+ Materials: Fallen flower petals, contact paper or glue and cardstock.

Collect petals from flowers that have already dropped (dandelions, cherry blossoms, daffodils). Peel the backing from a sheet of clear contact paper and tape it sticky-side-up to the table. Let the child arrange petals in any design. Cover with a second sheet of contact paper to seal. Hang in a window for a stained-glass effect.

2. Mud Kitchen Creations

Ages: 18 months+ Materials: Mud, water, old pots and pans, spoons, muffin tins, flowers and leaves for decoration.

Set up a mud kitchen area outdoors with old cookware. Children mix mud "batter," form mud pies and cakes, and decorate with petals, grass, and small stones. This is open-ended sensory art at its best — there is no wrong way to do it.

3. Pressed Flower Bookmarks

Ages: 4+ Materials: Small flowers and leaves, heavy books, parchment paper, card stock, glue, clear contact paper.

Place flowers between sheets of parchment paper inside a heavy book. Wait one to two weeks until fully dried and flat. Glue pressed flowers onto card stock strips. Cover with contact paper or laminate. Punch a hole at the top and add a ribbon.

4. Seed Bomb Making

Ages: 3+ Materials: Air-dry clay or a mixture of clay soil, compost, and water, wildflower seeds.

Mix two parts clay with one part compost. Add wildflower seeds appropriate for your region. Form into small balls about the size of a marble. Let dry for 24-48 hours. Toss into bare spots in the garden or yard and let rain do the rest. A beautiful project that connects art-making with environmental stewardship.

5. Dandelion Print Painting

Ages: 2+ Materials: Dandelion heads (the yellow flowers, not the seed puffs), paper, washable paint in shallow trays.

Dip the yellow dandelion head into paint and stamp onto paper. The natural shape creates a beautiful starburst pattern. Use multiple colors and overlap prints. Dandelions are abundant in spring and this is a guilt-free way to pick them.

Summer Projects

6. Nature Mandalas

Ages: 3+ Materials: Any natural objects — petals, leaves, pebbles, sticks, seeds, shells.

A mandala is a circular pattern built outward from a center point. Start with a single stone or flower in the middle. Build concentric rings using different materials — a ring of petals, then a ring of small stones, then a ring of grass blades. Photograph the finished mandala (they are temporary outdoor art) and leave them to return to nature.

7. Painted Rocks

Ages: 3+ Materials: Smooth stones, acrylic paint or paint pens, clear sealant (optional).

Collect smooth river rocks or landscaping stones. Wash and dry them. Paint designs — animals, patterns, words, faces, or ladybugs. Let dry completely. Optionally seal with clear acrylic spray. Place painted rocks in the garden, along pathways, or hide them around the neighborhood for others to find.

8. Stick Weaving

Ages: 5+ Materials: A Y-shaped stick or a simple stick frame, yarn in multiple colors.

Find a sturdy forked stick or lash four sticks together to form a square frame. Wrap yarn back and forth across the frame to create warp threads (the vertical strands). Weave yarn horizontally through the warp threads, alternating over and under. Tuck in flowers, feathers, and grasses as you weave for a mixed-media effect.

9. Sun Prints (Cyanotype or Shadow Art)

Ages: 4+ Materials: Dark-colored construction paper, natural objects with interesting shapes (fern fronds, flowers, leaves, feathers).

Place natural objects on dark construction paper and leave in direct sunlight for 2-3 hours. The exposed paper will fade while the covered areas stay dark, creating silhouette prints. For more permanent results, use sun-print paper (cyanotype paper), which is available at craft stores and produces beautiful blue-and-white prints.

10. Sand Casting

Ages: 4+ Materials: Wet sand (at the beach or in a sandbox), plaster of Paris, natural decorations (shells, sea glass, small stones).

Press a shape into firmly packed wet sand — a handprint, footprint, or carved design. Press shells and stones into the sand face-down. Mix plaster of Paris and pour into the impression. Wait 30-45 minutes for it to set. Carefully lift out the plaster cast and brush away loose sand. The shells and stones will be embedded in the plaster.

Fall Projects

11. Leaf Rubbing Art

Ages: 2+ Materials: Leaves with prominent veins, paper, crayons with paper wrappers removed.

Place a leaf under a sheet of white paper, vein-side up. Rub the side of a crayon across the paper. The leaf shape and vein pattern will appear. Overlap multiple leaves and colors for a layered effect. This is one of the simplest and most satisfying nature art projects for young children.

12. Leaf Crown

Ages: 3+ Materials: Large leaves (maple, oak, sycamore), a strip of cardboard or thick paper, tape or a stapler.

Cut a strip of cardboard long enough to wrap around the child's head. Tape or staple into a circle. Attach leaves by tucking stems through the band or taping them along the outside. Add acorns, small flowers, or berries for decoration. Perfect for fall nature walks and imaginative play.

13. Acorn and Pinecone Creatures

Ages: 4+ Materials: Acorns, pinecones, small sticks, air-dry clay or glue, googly eyes (optional).

Use clay or hot glue (adults only) to attach acorn heads to pinecone bodies. Add stick legs and arms. Create a whole family of woodland creatures — owls, mice, hedgehogs, gnomes. Display on a nature table or shelf.

14. Nature Color Palette Walk

Ages: 3+ Materials: A strip of cardboard with double-sided tape on it, or a piece of paper with glue.

Take a walk and challenge children to find natural objects that match specific colors. Stick each found object onto the cardboard strip to create a nature color palette — yellow dandelion petal, green leaf, brown bark, red berry, orange mushroom, white pebble. Compare palettes from different seasons to observe how nature's color range changes.

15. Bark Rubbing Collection

Ages: 3+ Materials: Paper, large crayons, tape, different trees.

Tape paper to the trunk of a tree. Rub the side of a crayon across the paper to capture the bark texture. Do this with multiple tree species and label each rubbing. Compare the patterns — smooth birch, deeply furrowed oak, peeling sycamore. This project doubles as a tree identification activity.

Winter Projects

16. Pinecone Bird Feeders

Ages: 2+ Materials: Pinecones, peanut butter or sunflower seed butter, birdseed, string.

Tie a length of string around the top of a pinecone. Spread peanut butter or sunflower seed butter into the gaps between the scales. Roll the pinecone in birdseed until fully coated. Hang from a tree branch outside a window where you can watch birds visit.

17. Ice Sun Catchers

Ages: 2+ Materials: Pie tins or shallow containers, water, natural objects (berries, evergreen sprigs, flower heads, citrus slices), string.

Arrange natural objects in a shallow container. Fill with water. Lay a loop of string into the water with the ends hanging over the edge (this will be the hanger). Freeze overnight outdoors or in the freezer. Pop out the ice disc and hang from a tree branch. Beautiful on sunny winter mornings when they catch the light.

18. Twig Star Ornaments

Ages: 4+ Materials: 5 straight sticks of equal length (about 4-6 inches), string or yarn, glue (optional).

Arrange five sticks into a five-pointed star shape. Lash the overlapping points together with string, wrapping in an X pattern at each joint. Tie a hanging loop at the top. Decorate with yarn wrapping, dried berries, or small bells.

19. Evergreen Wreath Making

Ages: 5+ (with adult help) Materials: A wire coat hanger bent into a circle (or a grapevine wreath base), evergreen branches, wire or twist ties, ribbon.

Bend a coat hanger into a circle. Attach small bundles of evergreen branches by wrapping the stems to the wire with twist ties. Overlap bundles to cover the frame completely. Add a bow and hang on the front door. A hands-on project that fills the house with the scent of pine.

20. Nature Journal

Ages: 4+ Materials: A blank notebook or stapled pages, colored pencils, tape or glue, collected nature items.

Start a year-round nature journal. On each page, record the date, weather, and what you observed outside. Tape in pressed leaves and flowers. Draw birds, insects, clouds, and trees. Write descriptions of smells, sounds, and textures. Over months, the journal becomes a personal record of the changing seasons and a beloved keepsake. For prompts and layout inspiration, see our full guide to nature journal ideas for kids.

Tips for Successful Nature Art

Let the Process Lead

Nature art is about exploration, not perfection. Resist the urge to direct the child's design or "fix" their arrangement. A toddler's mud pie smeared with dandelion petals is just as valid as a carefully composed mandala. The value is in the doing.

Photograph Temporary Art

Many nature art projects — mandalas, mud sculptures, ice catchers — are temporary by design. Take photographs to preserve them. Create a digital album or print favorites to display. Impermanence is part of the beauty and teaches children to appreciate the moment.

Connect Art to Observation

Before creating, spend time observing. Look closely at a leaf's vein pattern before making a rubbing. Notice the color variations in a single petal before pressing it. Smell the moss before using it. This slows children down and deepens their connection to the natural materials. Displaying finished projects alongside collected objects on a seasonal nature table is a wonderful way to extend the experience.

Adapt for Ages

For toddlers (18 months to 3 years): Choose projects with large materials, simple actions (stamping, squishing, sticking), and no small parts. Leaf prints, mud painting, and petal collages are ideal.

For preschoolers (3-5 years): Add projects with more steps, like pressed flowers, painted rocks, and nature mandalas. Introduce counting and sorting natural materials by color, size, or type.

For school-age children (6-12 years): Challenge them with weaving, wreath-making, nature journals, and sun prints. Encourage them to design their own projects and explore the intersection of art and science.

Nature art is free, endlessly varied, and available in every season. Step outside with your child, look down, look up, and start creating with whatever you find.