Easy Fall Project: Make-Your-Own "Fall Leaves" Book

First off, let me tell you that I am not crafty. I don't sew. I don't knit. I lack the follow-through to be a good scrapbooker. Besides, I can barely stay inside the lines when I color! So when I say that this project is easy, you know that anyone can tackle it!

What You Need:
Any size plastic Ziploc bags (I used 6 quart-sized off-brand freezer bags because that's what I had)
Glue or clear packaging tape
Markers
Choice of: Hole-punch & thick ribbon or yarn OR clear packaging tape
Poster board, card stock, or other thick paper (I used business card paper that never did print right)

What to Do:
Go on a walk with your little one and pick up pretty leaves as you go. It was a gorgeous fall day! I picked up intact leaves in as many different colors as I could find - green, yellow, orange, red, brown. This is at least half the fun!

Cut the thick paper into squares - try one first to make sure it fits into the bag easily!

Use glue or clear packaging tape to stick each leaf to a page - one color per page. Glue worked fine for the colorful leaves, but the clear tape was needed for the drier brown leaf.

For the cover page, glue two or more colorful leaves to the page.

Use colorful markers to write the words. I have an 8-month-old, so I kept it simple. I wrote "Fall Leaves   by Mommy" on the cover, then "Green Leaf", "Yellow Leaf", etc. You can be creative!

Insert pages into bags & zip.

To attach the pages together, I had planned on punching two holes in the side and using a thick ribbon or yarn to tie them together. Turns out my hole puncher couldn't hack it, so I settled for plan B: Clear packaging tape. I've had this same clear packaging tape since the dawn of time, and let me tell you, it sure has come in handy!

Anyway, I used one piece of clear tape around the outside edge, then flipped through page-by-page and put tape on each page.

That's it! It's not the sturdiest little book, but it's cute and fun to read with my baby. And, of course, you can make books using any pictures, objects, or topics you want.

Here are pictures of the finished product: