Create a beautiful suncatcher with treasures kids find on nature walks TEXT, STYLING + PHOTOGRAPHY Ashlee Coffey
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ne of my family’s favorite things to do is go on walks. We love to head to a trail or go to a state park, but even those simple neighborhood walks do the trick. And my kids absolutely love finding nature’s little treasures — rocks, leaves, flowers, sticks, etc. — to bring back with them. One time, we brought a small bag with us and I let them fill it to their hearts content — with the caveat that its contents have to remain outside. I can’t tell you how many random sticks or dried flowers I’ve found throughout my house. But I decided to use some of their treasures to make a suncatcher we could hang in the house. You can use dried leaves and flowers or fresh ones. It’s entirely up to you. Here’s what you’ll need to make your own.
NATURE-INSPIRED SUNCATCHERS • Dried or fresh leaves and f lowers • Clear contact paper
• Embroider y hoop • String
1. First, if you want to use dried flowers and leaves, press your fresh foliage between sheets of newspaper and stack heavy books on top (or get a flower press). Leave it be for several weeks. Fresh works great, too. 2. Take your contact paper and lay it out with the sticky side up. Lay your embroidery hoop on top and then carefully place your leaves and flowers down however you want. 3. Remove the embroidery hoop and carefully lay down another piece of contact paper on top so your foliage is encased inside. Go slow so you can avoid a ton of air bubbles. If you have any bubbles (and you will; they’re impossible to avoid entirely), just use a credit card to smooth them out as best as you can. 4. Lay your embroidery hoop back down, trace the outside of hoop around your design and cut it out. You want to make sure the contact paper circle is a little bit large than your embroidery hoop. 5. Lay the cut out piece of contact paper over the inner circle of your hoop and put the outside hoop over it and tighten. It can be a little finicky but just do your best to pull the contact paper tight while you tighten the embroidery hoop screw. 6. Once you’re finished, use the string to create a way to hang the sun catcher from a window in your home.
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