Contact paper is a wonderfully versatile craft supply, perfect for many projects — including making Contact Paper Window Stickers that look like fall leaves. If you haven’t tried contact paper crafts yet, you’ll find plenty of ideas and kid-friendly projects to inspire you.
Here’s an easy and colorful project: window stickers that look like autumn leaves. They make lovely suncatchers when the light shines through.
Fall Leaves Craft
Supplies you’ll need:
- Clear contact paper
- Acrylic paint in fall colors
- Tape
- Scissors
- Black permanent marker
- Paint palette or paper plate
- Small paintbrush
- Free leaf printable — print and cut the leaf shapes to trace
First, cut out the leaf shapes from your printable and trace them onto a length of contact paper with the black permanent marker. To keep the contact paper from rolling, tape it to the table while you trace.
Important: Trace the leaves on the smooth, non-printed side of the contact paper so the marker won’t smear.
Squeeze several fall shades of acrylic paint onto a palette or paper plate. Acrylic works well on contact paper because it dries with a slight sheen and won’t flake when the contact paper is flexed. If you don’t have every color, you can mix paints to create browns, deep reds, and golden hues.
Tape the traced contact paper to a flat workspace and invite kids to paint. Talk briefly about the colors and patterns seen in real fall leaves so they have examples to guide their painting.
Kids often enjoy blending colors on the contact paper — just like natural leaves, the painted shapes develop interesting variegation as colors mix.
Because several paints will mix together, there’s no need to rinse brushes between colors unless you want a very distinct line. This makes the process faster and the results more organic.
Allow the painted contact paper to dry thoroughly — typically about an hour depending on paint thickness. Once dry, cut out each leaf by following the black outlines. If the outline is hard to see because of dark paint, hold the contact paper up to the light to reveal the lines as you cut.
To display, peel the backing off each contact-paper leaf (young children may need help) and press them onto a clean window. The adhesive is repositionable, so the leaves can be moved around until you’re happy with the arrangement.
When sunlight filters through the painted contact paper, the leaves become lovely suncatchers that brighten any window and celebrate autumn’s colors.
If you enjoy this activity, try other leaf-themed crafts and variations: different leaf shapes, layered leaves for depth, or a collage of mixed-media pieces. It’s an easy, low-mess project that children of various ages can adapt to their skill level.
