Not only do I enjoy spending time outdoors, I also enjoy bringing a bit of the outdoors in. This DIY Fall sun catcher is easy and inexpensive to make and lets you enjoy the beautiful colors of fall all season long.
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If you have a pre-schooler, you know they love to collect things from the outdoors. Even though George has several nature collection pouches, I am constantly picking acorns and leaves out of everyone’s pockets. Plus, he is always giving me little flowers that he picks up along our trails.
I love everything that he gifts me, but it’s just not possible to keep it all. That’s why I love this DIY Fall Sun Catcher. They are EASY to make, allow me to save some of George’s treasures and they look beautiful in the windows of our home.
Sun Catcher Supplies
A collection of fall nature items (you can also purchase an artificial assortment)
Contact paper
Scissors
Embroidery hoops (I used 4″ hoops, any size will work)
Marker or pen
How to Make a Fall Sun Catcher
Follow these steps to make your DIY Sun Catcher. These are so easy to make, I would suggest having enough supplies to make several of them.
- Trace and cut out two squares of contact paper about 2 inches wider than the diameter of your embroidery hoop. My hoop was 4 inches so I cut two 6”x6” squares. You can adjust for whatever size hoop you choose.
- Peel the backing from one of the contact squares. Fit it into your embroidery hoop, sticky side up. Keep your outer hoop very loose when fitting to avoid sticking.
- Apply your nature treasure in whatever pattern you like to the sticky side of the paper.
- Carefully remove the top ring of the hoop. Peel the backing from the second square of contact paper and apply face down on top of your design, pressing firmly to ensure a good seal.
- Replace the top ring of your embroidery hoop and tighten. Trim off excess contact paper from the rear of the hoop.
How to Extend this into a Nature Study
We’re all about nature studies around here. I always have some sort of nature guide and my nature journal within reach. We are regularly looking up plants, leaves, mushrooms and more to extend our vocabulary and out knowledge. George can already identify about 10 trees by their leaves and several just by their bark. We’re learning about mushrooms together and we love to discover the plants and wildflowers as they bloom around our property.
I highly suggest you collect local natural materials for this project and use a nature guide (or an app like Seek) to identify anything you don’t recognize.
Before you create your suncatchers, spend some time in your nature journal sketching and labeling your finds. I also like to record the date and the location of the finds so I can look for them again next year.
If you are decent with a camera, you can also create some nature photography along your journey.
If you are hunting plants and flowers anywhere other than your private property, be sure to as permission. Wildflowers are protected in many places so be careful about picking anything when you visit parks, trails or public use land.
Read Next
- Easy Fall Tree Painting for Kids
- Lake Poinsett State Park – Harrisburg, Arkansas
- Adventures at a Pumpkin Patch: Peebles Farm – Augusta, AR
- Cooking with Pumpkin – Homemade Pumpkin Puree
- How to Build the Perfect Campfire
Pin this DIY Fall Sun Catcher to Pinterest to save it for later.
