What You'll Need:

• An assortment of fresh leaves in interesting shapes and textures, like maple, magnolia, oak, or ginko
• White paper, 8-1/2" x 11" or larger
• Crayons with the wrappers peeled off
• Clear tape to hold leaves in place

How to Create Garden Rubbings:

1. Spread out your leaves on a table or other hard surface.

2. To make individual leaf rubbings, tape one leaf in the center of a piece of white paper.

3. Flip over the paper so the leaf is on the bottom.

4. Hold a crayon so that it's horizontal, and rub the long side of the crayon against the paper over the leaf.

5. Watch as the image of the leaf appears! Color continuously in the same direction for a prettier rubbing.

6. If you'd like to make a collage of leaves, spread out several leaves on a piece of paper, tape them in place, turn over the paper, and rub the crayon over the paper until the images appear. Use different colors for each leaf, if you like.

7. Turn over the paper, and gently remove the tape and leaf.

8. Sign your work of art and display it!

Get creative with your art display: Instead of hanging it on the refrigerator, frame 4 individual leaves and group them on a wall, or decorate a bedroom door with leaf art. Just be sure the leaves you choose for your rubbing aren't poison ivy! (Remember, "leaves of 3, let it be.")