Colored Rice Leaves (and Bunny)

Happy National Rice Month! 

It's funny the things you learn when running a kids' craft website. A few days ago, I went through ALL the Fun Family Crafts projects made with rice and selected ten of my favorites to feature. This is one of the best parts of my job. I'm currently working on round-ups for Make a Hat Day, Collect Rocks Day and Talk Like a Pirate Day and enjoying each immensely. 

Anyway, rice. Going through 75+ rice crafts reminded me that I had multiple baggies of colorful rice left over from our rice-dyed Easter eggs. I dug out the baggies and was struck by the fact that they were perfect for fall colors. So I made some leaves.

Materials: Twisteezwire, colored rice, Contact paper, wire cutters, scissors

 

Bend the wire into leaf shapes, twist to secure, then trim off any excess.

 

Fold back the liner of the Contact paper. Place the wire onto the exposed sticky and sprinkle rice into the form. 

 

Peel the rest of the Contact paper and press it over the top, sealing the wire and rice inside. Trim the shapes and stick them to the window with a loop of scotch tape.

Trevor watched me get out the materials and was very interested to see what I was making. After watching me make the first leaf, he designed his own project. I love that he used plain white rice, with colored rice as facial features! 

 

FYI: The Contact paper does not hold to itself very securely. Our designs are holding up OK in the window, but would not survive being handled. I think because Contact paper is designed to be a removable shelf liner, it is not actually the best material for something you don't want to come apart. I'd originally imagined my leaves as pretty decorations for a fall holiday table, but they are too fragile for that. I'm trying to think what other materials are still transparent and sticky, but will hold more securely. Any suggestions?