Celebrate all things fall with a leaf salt painting! Salt painted leaves are SO FUN to make and it’s such a creative autumn art project for kids.
Sprinkle table salt on white glue, then add watercolor paint to create these textured leaf paintings. Enjoy watching the paint spread across the raised salt, almost like magic — it’s so mesmerizing!
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How to Make a Leaf Salt Painting
Fall leaf painting is such an easy autumn craft, fun for kids of all ages and the whole family. This super cool project is a great way to combine science and art!
Check Out The Video Tutorial:
Instructions:
Step 1: Find what you need
Step 2: Trace the leaf templates
Step 3: Add glue and salt
Step 4: Add paint to the leaves
Helpful Tips:
- Pour the excess salt from your first artwork onto a plate or into a bowl and use it again for another painting!
- You can also use a light board for tracing your leaves onto the paper. An inexpensive light pad is a great drawing and crafting resource!
Free printable templates for leaf salt painting:
Use the text link below to find the leaf templates we used to make our salt painted fall leaves! There are 5 different varieties of leaves, and they’re all free to download and print.
>>> Leaf Templates <<<
What type of paper is best for a salt leaf painting?
We used watercolor paper to make our leaf salt paintings. It’s very thick and it’s meant to absorb liquid, making it the perfect choice to handle glue and paint without warping too much.
But cardstock will work as well, and it’s a lot less expensive. We used white paper as a background for our leaves, but you can easily use black or another matching fall shade.
What type of paint can you use for leaf salt painting?
Basically, you need a paint that’s liquid enough to spread across the salt and absorb into it. We used a watercolor pan set to make our salt painted leaves.
You can also use liquid watercolor paint or diluted food coloring. Try using a 3:1 water to paint ratio.
Bring out your inner artist with a leaf salt painting! Use our free printable leaf templates and a few simple supplies to create this simple fall craft. It’s super colourful and so satisfying to make!!
Here’s even more fall leaf craft ideas:
How to Preserve Leaves
Clay Leaf Bowl
DIY Thanksgiving Place Cards
Our book Low-Mess Crafts for Kids is loaded with 72 fun and simple craft ideas for kids! The projects are fun, easy and most importantly low-mess, so the clean up is simple!
