Make beautiful accordion folded fall leaves out of colorful scrapbook paper. Printable template included.
Today I’m sharing a simple and fun fall paper craft idea. I’m going to show you how to make the cutest little fall leaves out of paper.
Grab a big stack of paper scraps in your favorite autumnal hues and let’s get crafting!
Materials Needed
- Scrapbook Paper or Colorful Paper of Any Kind
- Scissors
- Pencil
- Paper Scoring Tool, optional
- Hot Glue Gun + Glue Sticks
- Templates, optional
You can absolutely freehand this craft, but I know that is intimidating to some people, so I created three different templates you can print and trace. Scroll down to the green button near the end of this post to grab those files. You could also start with the template to get the hang of it, then make your own variations from there.
Instructions
Step 1: Begin by folding a piece of paper in half. If you’re using a 12″x12″ paper, it doesn’t matter which direction you fold it. But if you are folding a standard sized 8.5″x11″ paper, do it the “hamburger way” so that it’s wider and not the “hot dog way” that is long and skinny. I was able to use a lot of scrap paper, so this was a great stash buster craft.
Step 2: Draw a maple leaf shape from top to bottom, with the folded edge of the paper inside the shape. It looks best to leave a little flat part along the top edge and a big flat part on the bottom edge and to make three groupings of jagged edges. Can you see that general shape in the instruction photo? I
Step 3: Cut along the pencil line. It doesn’t have to be exact.
Step 4: Unfold the paper and make score lines across the entire paper. Use the long straight edge as a guide. I spaced my lines about 1/2 inch apart.
Step 5: Accordion fold the paper. I like to fold the longest edge down so that the two sides meet when folded together.
Step 6: Fold along the center line until the two longest edges meet in the middle. Press tight to get the fold lines nice and crisp, then add hot glue all along that inner long edge. Line up the two sides and press them together.
Step 7: You’ll notice that some of the bottom parts of the leaf want to unfold. Open up the different folds and add a bit of hot glue to tack them together until everything stays the way you want. Fluff out the folds to get a nice full shape.
Then look at this cute dimensional fall leaf you just made!
It’s really fun to experiment with shape variations and colors and patterned paper.
So the question is, what do you DO with them once you make them? Here are some ideas:
Turn them into a pretty fall garland.
Or make a fall wreath!
Or glue a stick to the back of each leaf and make a beautiful fall bouquet.
Folded Paper Fall Leaves Video
These paper leaves are such a versatile craft and so relaxing and fun to make. Hope you’ll give it a try this fall. Happy crafting!
Let’s Get Social
I’m sharing tons of fun ideas on my social channels and I’d love for you to join me there.