Learn how to make gorgeous marbled fall leaf crafts with polyform clay with these easy fall leaf craft ideas. (First published November 3, 2017; this post is updated and republished to improve the content.)
Marbled autumn clay leaves make gorgeous DIY fall home decor that you can use as ornaments to decorate bare branches. Or use homemade clay leaves to make other fall leaf crafts, such as wreaths, garlands, thankful trees, and gratitude mobiles. This easy fall leaf craft idea can also be turned into homemade leaf gift tags for a fall birthday or table scatter for a fall wedding, Thanksgiving, or another autumn-themed special event.
Making gorgeous marbled autumn leaves and other fall leaf crafts is fun for kids and adults. If your kids like to bake cookies, they will LOVE making marbled polyform clay autumn leaves! Try this fall leaf craft idea with your children at home or in the classroom this autumn. Scroll down for the craft materials and step-by-step instructions to make fall leaves out of clay. You may also enjoy this list of Fall Crafts and Activities for Kids.
Related: Fall Books for Kids: Autumn Stories Children LOVE!
Fall leaf Craft Idea: Marbled Clay Fall Leaves.
A few years ago, my daughter and I made marbled clay handprint ring bowls to give as gifts to her grandparents. As we made them, we thought using the same polyform clay marbling process with autumn colors to make fall leaf crafts would also be fun.
Marbling polymer clay with autumn colors is a beautiful fall leaf craft idea, so we decided to share this craft tutorial with you. Make marbled autumn leaves out of clay with this simple fall leaf craft project for kids and adults. Scroll down for the simple step-by-step leaf project tutorial.
Polyform clay autumn leaves look lovely hanging on bare branches, as shown in the photograph below. Learn two ways to transform fall leaves into gratitude leaves that look amazing on a thankful tree or gratitude mobile. Click the links for all the DIY details!
Related: Fall Leaves Watercolor Resist Art
Fall Leaf Craft Project Materials:
- Polymer clay
- Rolling pin or acrylic clay roller
- Glass cutting mat
- Leaf cookie cutters (or try THESE, THESE, or THESE)
- Oven bake clay bond and glaze pack (optional)
Related: Windy Fall Leaves Sensory Bottle
How to Make Marbled Polymer Clay Fall Leaves: Step-by-Step Directions
Children will love making these gorgeous clay fall leaf crafts for kids. First, learn how to make polymer clay leaves with the step-by-step tutorial below. After the directions, we posted a step-by-step photo tutorial that makes it easy to make these easy fall leaf crafts.
Make autumn leaf crafts with your children at home or in the classroom. Once finished with your clay fall leaves, you can use them in lots of creative ways. For example, marbled clay autumn leaves make beautiful ornaments to hang on bare branches and thankful trees, and they also look fantastic when made into fall wreaths and leaf garlands.
Related: The Best Fall Art Projects for Kids
1. Select at least 2-4 colors of polyform clay and roll them into snakes.
- Make different-sized polyform clay snakes (thin vs. thick) to vary the marbled clay effect.
- Use a variety of colors to make beautiful marbled clay autumn leaf crafts.
2. Twist several polyform clay snakes of different colors together.
- Grab a few snakes of polyform clay in different colors and twist them together.
3. Roll the twisted marbled clay into a ball and use a rolling pin to flatten it.
- Next, roll the twisted marbled clay into a ball and flatten it with a clay roller or a rolling pin.
- Want more swirls? Roll the ball of clay into a snake again, fold it in half, twist it up tight, roll it back into a ball, and use a rolling pin to flatten it again.
4. Cut autumn leaves with a fall leaf cookie cutter.
- Use fall leaf cookie cutters to make autumn leaves.
- If you don’t have autumn leaf cookie cutters, you can trace real fall leaves with an Exacto knife as an alternative.
- Note: We used this glass cutting mat for rolling out and cutting our autumn leaves. Some colors of polyform clay can stain skin and work surfaces. Use a glass mat to protect your work surface from stains and cuts.
5. Reuse scraps to make more fall leaf crafts.
- Roll the polyform clay scraps into a snake and reuse them to make more autumn leaf crafts, as shown in the photograph below.
- Add more clay and mix new polyform clay snakes with the leftover scraps to make more fall leaves.
- Repeat as needed.
6. Bake The polyform clay autumn leaf crafts according to the manufacturer’s directions.
- Place marbled clay fall leaves on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
- Bake the fall leaves according to the clay manufacturer’s directions.
- We cooked our fall leaf crafts for 15-20 minutes at 275 degrees.
- Allow clay fall leaves to cool completely.
7. Seal and protect polyform clay fall leaves (optional).
- Use oven-bake clay bond and glaze to seal and protect polyform clay autumn leaves if desired. This step is optional — the leaves pictured do not have a glaze applied.
8. Use fall leaf crafts to make more fall leaf projects (optional).
Use the ideas below to make more autumn leaf crafts. Try any of the fun DIY fall home decor ideas listed below!
- Hang marbled clay fall leaves on bare branches.
- Stamp fall leaves before baking, or use a white or fine-tip gold paint pen to write words of gratitude on them before hanging them on a thankful tree.
- Use fall leaf crafts to make a DIY autumn wreath or garland.
- Or, make a gratitude mobile with your autumn leaves!
Related: Clay Gratitude Leaves Thanksgiving Craft
How to Make Marbled Clay Autumn Leaves: Step-by-Step Photo Tutorial
The photo tutorial below shows how to make clay leaves with marbled polyform clay. Making leaves out of marbled polymer clay is a fun leaf craft idea for kids and adults!
Related: Nature Crafts and Nature Activities That Use Natural Materials
DIY Marbled Clay Autumn Leaves: Fall Leaf Crafts for Kids, Teens, and Adults!
Making marbled autumn leaves is a fun project for the whole family. Turn them into gratitude leaves for your thankful tree, wreath, garland, or gratitude mobile for even more fun. Clay fall leaves also make a fun gift tag for a fall birthday and table scatter for any autumn-themed event such as fall harvest or Thanksgiving.
Creating fall leaves is a great way to connect with the kids. If your kids like to bake cookies, they will love making marbled clay autumn leaves! Speaking of cookies, this easy sugar cookie recipe is a hit at our house. And they are super easy to make as a kindness project for the holidays.
You might also enjoy this fall bucket list of fun activities for the best autumn EVER!
Learn more about Rhythms of Play HERE.
More Fall Leaf Arts and Crafts
- How to Preserve Fall Leaves
- Fall Leaves Watercolor Resist Art
- Best Fall Nature Crafts
- How to Make a Thankful Tree with Real Fall Leaves
- Fall Leaf Sewing Project for Kids
- Turkey Leaf Lanterns Thanksgiving Craft
- Best Fall Art Projects for Kids
- Watercolor and Fall Leaves Art
- Leaf Baby Book Inspired Fall Leaf Crafts
If You Like Crafting with Fall Leaves, You May Also Like These Fun Fall Activities:
- 10 Ways to Have Fun Outside with Fall Leaves
- Fall Bucket List of Fun Fall Activities for Kids
- Rainy Day Activities: 20 Fun Things to Do on a Rainy Day
- Get Lost in a Corn Maze
- Visit a Pumpkin Patch
- Apple Orchard Field Trip Ideas
- Thanksgiving Traditions: Fun Things to do on Thanksgiving
Elisabeth says
How many leaves can you make with one polymer packet?
Nell Regan M.A. says
Hi Elisabeth, great question! The number of leaves you can make with one polymer clay packet will, of course, depend on the size of the packet and the size of your leaf cookie cutters. We used 3-4 packets (one of each color shown) of Sculpy polymer clay to make all the leaves, but some of our leaf cutters were smaller than others. I hope that helps!