How to Make Leaf Rubbing Art

2 months agoRebecca Richardson

It’s finally starting to feel like fall, which for many means more cozy time spent indoors. Here at ICAN, we have no shortage of boredom busters to get us through the colder months, from audio specials on ICAN Radio to activities on the blog. One of our favorite ways to celebrate the season and fuel our creativity is through crafting. For today’s craft, you likely already have everything you need to complete it!

Have you ever heard of leaf rubbing? Using only crayons and paper, this easy fall craft takes leaves that you’d find in your environment and turns them into beautiful pieces of autumnal artwork. Keep reading to learn how to create leaf rubbing art yourself:

Photo of leaf rubbing art with leaves and crayons

What You’ll Need:

A few fallen leaves from the environment around you*
A few different colored crayons, paper wrapping removed
At least 1 piece of white paper

*Fresher/ softer leaves work the best. Once leaves get crunchy, it’s more challenging to trace their shape underneath the paper.

How to Make Leaf Rubbing Art:

Step 1: Gather & Assess

Gather your materials (listed above) and assess your leaves. Notice their unique shapes, patterns, sizes, and colors. Before you begin coloring, try arranging your leaf collection in various patterns on your paper. Or if you’d prefer to be more spontaneous, choose the first leaf you’d like to rub on your paper and proceed to step 2!

photo of leaves, white paper, and crayons

Step 2: Begin Rubbing!

Place your first chosen leaf underneath your white paper, positioning it where you’d like the image to appear on your paper. Then, choose a crayon, place it on the paper over the leaf on its side, and gently begin rubbing along the outline of the leaf beneath the paper. How much pressure you need to apply will depend on the paper, the leaf, and the crayons you’re currently using.

*Pro tip – try turning your crayon and rubbing it in various directions to get the most out of your leaf impression.

Step 3: Continue and/or Enhance

Once you have a visible impression of your leaf on the paper, you can either move on to your next leaf rubbing or choose another color crayon and color in your first image a bit more. You could also color in the negative space around the leaves. Let your creativity be your guide!