If your kids love picking up leaves, flowers, and twigs on every walk, this Nature Fairy Craft is exactly the kind of activity they’ll get into. We first made these while camping in the Haliburton Forest Reserve (that same trip where we did Nature Ramps!), but honestly, this craft works just as well at home or in your own backyard.
We had one of those laid-back camping days—no big plans, just swimming, biking, a little fishing, and exploring around our site and the lake close by. The kids collected all sorts of pretty leaves, wildflowers, and bark pieces. Instead of just tossing them in a pile, we decided to turn them into little fairy friends. And now, Nature Fairies are officially part of our family camping tradition.
Why You’ll Love Nature Fairy Craft
- It uses what you already have around you—leaves, flowers, and twigs from a walk or your campsite.
- There’s no paint or scissors required, making it super simple and mess-free.
- Works for all ages: Toddlers can stick on leaves while older kids design detailed fairy dresses and wings.
- Encourages creativity and connects kids with nature. Bonus: It keeps them busy when there’s no playground nearby.
Materials You’ll Need
- White cardstock or stiff paper
- Black marker or pen
- Glue stick or liquid glue
- Natural materials:
- Leaves (all shapes and sizes)
- Flower petals
- Bark pieces
- Small sticks
Optional: String or tape if you want to hang them up later.
How to Set Up Your Nature Fairy Craft
We kept things super simple. No cutting or fancy steps, just an easy nature-and-art setup:
1. Go on a Fairy Material Hunt
Head outside with a small bag or basket and collect anything that looks like it could be part of a fairy’s outfit or wings. Look for leaves in fun shapes, flower petals in different colors, tiny twigs for arms, and even grass or bark pieces.
2. Draw Your Fairy Base
On your white cardstock, draw a simple fairy face and head with a marker or pen. You can add a neck and a little line where the dress starts. Keep it basic—just a face and head is plenty. Older kids might want to add arms or legs too.
3. Build the Fairy’s Outfit
Now the fun part! Use glue to stick on leaves, flowers, and other natural materials as the fairy’s dress, wings, or hair.
- Leaves make perfect layered fairy dresses.
- Flower petals make great skirts or hats.
- Bark pieces can be used for belts or shoes.
Let your kids get as creative as they want here. There’s no wrong way to dress up a nature fairy!
4. Let Dry and Display
Once everything is glued down, set your fairy aside to dry completely. You can leave it flat on a table or tray.
If you want to display them later, punch a hole at the top of the cardstock and tie a string through to hang them up—either on a wall, in the tent, or in your kid’s room at home.
The Nature Fairy Craft is one of those super easy summer activities that feels a little magical, especially if you’re doing it out in nature or while camping. It doesn’t take a lot of prep, the mess is minimal, and the kids get to turn their little treasures from nature walks into something special.
Next time you’re out exploring—whether that’s at a campsite or just in your own backyard—grab some leaves and make your own fairy crew. I’d love to see what you come up with!
Play2Learn Toddler & Preschool Programs for Curious Toddlers
There is no limit to your toddler’s energy and curiosity. That energy and curiosity although a joy can be challenging at times. Their interest in just about everything around them is what makes them great learners. One and two year olds can soak up so much just from their senses!
But as a teacher or parent that thirst for learning can be exhausting. That is why I created this toddler and preschooler program. To help you get the most out of this time with your curious toddler without having to come up with creative ways to play and interact with them.
Play2Learn for Toddlers includes 20 Units for toddlers. Each 2-week toddler unit has 20 super easy to set up and engaging activities for toddlers 18 months to 3 years.
Play2Learn Preschool which includes 20 Units for preschoolers. Each 2-week preschoolers unit has 20 unique and easy to set up and engaging activities for preschoolers 3 years to 5 years. That’s over 800 learning activities for your toddler and preschooler at your fingertips! So many ideas you and your child will never be bored again!
These toddler and preschool lesson plans and activities will definitely keep you and your toddler and preschooler busy playing and learning!
Click here for more information: Play2Learn
Book: Exciting Sensory Bins for Curious Kids
Did you know I wrote a book of sensory bins? Click here for more information Exciting Sensory Bin for Curious Kids. Or grab your copy at Amazon.
Boring afternoons are made exciting with awesome animal-based bins, like Salty Shark Bay or Yarn Farm. Pretend play bins like Birthday Cake Sensory Play or Bubble Tea Party encourage creativity and imagination. And your kids will have so much fun they won’t even know they’re getting smarter with STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art and math) activities like Sink or Float Soup, Magnetic Letter Hunt or Ice Cream Scoop and Count.
Designed for toddlers 18 months and up.
Book: Super STEAM Activity Book for Kids
Learning all about science, technology, engineering, art, and math sets kids up for scholastic success―and it can be so much fun! Watch kids enjoy building STEAM skills as they color friendly fish, help water find its way to tree roots, solve math problems with mazes, and more.
Find out more and grab your copy here.
Designed for preschoolers 3 years old and up.
Book: Big Book of Riddles for Kids
Riddle me this: What’s an exciting way to practice critical thinking while having a blast? The Big Riddle Book for Kids, of course! From hilarious puns to tough brain teasers, kids can build problem-solving skills with hundreds of riddles tha. t show them how to think outside the box.
- 350 riddles for kids—Have hours of fun with riddles, puns and jokes, and math and logic puzzles that’ll get their wheels turning!
- Level up their skills—Riddles get trickier as kids progress through the book, challenging them as they get better at solving puzzles!
- Double-check their work—Kids can check their answers in the back of the book with a handy answer key.
Help children expand their minds while having fun with this puzzle book for kids!
Designed for kids ages 6 years old and up.
TV Show: Curious Crafting
I’m so excited to share my crafting TV show Curious Crafting which launched in July 2022 on TVOkids and TVOkids YouTube! Season 2 aired in August 2023! My show was also nominated in 2023 for Best Live Action Preschool Series by the Youth Media Alliance Awards of Excellence.
Curious Crafting Season 1 is also now airing in Australia on ABC! Watch it here!
Set in the ultimate crafting space, Curious Crafting is a short form pre-school age series about the joy of making crafts. I lead a rotating cast of adorable little preschoolers (including my own) making magic out of common household objects.
In each episode we transform recycled items into magical crafts like a milk carton school bus, paper bag puppet or cotton pad turtle. The crafters learn and laugh their way through each activity while demonstrating what their young imaginations can create.
Curious Crafting shares the adventure and joy of making art with takeaway lessons for creating crafts at home.
This show designed for toddlers and preschoolers 2.5 years old and up.
