Fall Doorknob Decorations

Capture the warm colors of fall by creating a gorgeous doorknob decoration with Crayola Model Magic®.

• 1.

  This autumn decoration is great to give as a gift. Celebrate the season! Use these ideas, or your own imagination, to make a beautiful door hanger. Find out why leaves on deciduous trees turn such beautiful colors before you start.

• 2.

  Mix new colors or marbleize colors by blending two or three pieces of Crayola Model Magic® compound together. Knead until you achieve your desired fall hues. Model Magic sticks well to itself and most surfaces.

• 3.

  To make leaves, choose at least three wooden leaf shapes or create your own with thin cardboard. Be sure you can identify the trees from which the leaves came! Roll Model Magic® compound until it is very smooth. Lay the slab over one side of the wooden leaf. Use a modeling tool to trim the edges. Roll a thin rope of compound and lay it on the leaf in the pattern of leaf veins. Gently roll over the veins to flatten them a bit.

• 4.

  Model Magic dries to the touch overnight and dries completely in 2 to 3 days. When the covered wooden leaves are dry, cover the other side of the leaf using the same process. Smooth out the edges to completely cover the wood. Then air-dry the other side.

• 5.

  To make Indian corn, roll newspaper about 5 inches (13 cm) long into a corncob-shaped tube. Tape it closed. Roll out a smooth Model Magic slab. Cover the newspaper with the slab and smooth the edges. Roll several fall colors of Model Magic into many small

• 6.

  To make bittersweet, roll small balls of red Model Magic and attach them to chenille sticks. Wrap the bittersweet around the stems of the leaves.

• 7.

  When all of the pieces are dry, tie everything together with ribbon. Hang indoors from a doorknob or window for a festive fall welcome!

Benefits

• Students research the scientific explanation for why leaves turn colors in the fall in temperate climates.
• Students identify at least three different types of leaves from deciduous trees.
• Students design an intricate decoration using fall colors and foliage for inspiration.

Adaptations

• Research Robert Frost’s poetry that relates to fall. Listen to the poetry and create visual images from his words. Then draw or sculpt the scenes.
• Research the facts and traditions surrounding the traditional first Thanksgiving in North America in 1621.
• Research autumn traditions such as festivals related to harvest time, Oktoberfests, and the autumnal equinox.