We Heart Fall

When you live in south Georgia, fall is a very welcome season.  Autumn has always been my favorite time of year, but especially now, when the end of the hot + humid days is in sight.  In fact, we pulled out our fall/Halloween/Thanksgiving decorations this weekend.  I refrained from putting out jack-o-lanterns and "happy halloween" banners, but our house is now full of pumpkins and acorns and maple-flavored candles (yum!).  In keeping with the theme, I'm going to share a quick and easy project that I completed with my boys.

I homeschool my three boys, and I'm always on the look-out for projects that are kid-friendly.  Even if you don't homeschool, this is a craft that can be completed in well under half an hour, so it would be great as an after-school or weekend project!

All you need are a couple sheets of paper, a heart punch, a pumpkin (or apple or acorn) sticker, an alphabet (I pulled out both stickers and rub-ons and ended up going with the rub-ons), and a frame (I got mine on clearance last year after halloween).

First, cut the background sheet of paper to fit your frame (mine was a 5 x 7):

Next, punch your heart (we punched a few different sizes to compare with the alphabets):

The boys and I tested both the stickers and rub-ons, and ultimately the rub-ons won.  The stickers were just a little too tall for my taste; the boys didn't like that the stickers were multiple colors.  Before rubbing down the letters, I did a quick spacing check:

We originally went with the skinnier heart, but after adhering the rub-ons, it looked too skimpy, so we went with the larger-sized heart.  It's hard to tell in the photo, but the heart is up on a couple pop-dots.  The pumpkin is from a 3-D sticker sheet I also bought on clearance last year:

Note: Make sure your test your frame if you're planning on using dimensional elements.  They fit fine under the glass of the frame I purchased, but I know that's not always the case.  (If a project doesn't fit under the glass, I've been known to frame it on top of the glass, so there are ways around this one.)

And here's the finished product once again:

Have a great Labor Day Monday!