Water Cooler: Fall crafts for the family

Fill your home with fall festivity with crafts for the whole family.

Falling leaves sensory globe: This craft not only makes for a beautiful, shimmering fall globe by swapping out snow for leaves, but it also works excellently as a relaxing sensory toy for kids that need a quick and mess-free way to calm down.

You’ll need: A glass quart jar, or a plastic jar of similar size for younger children, glycerin, fall foil leaf confetti, a small tree branch, a hot glue gun and water.

Find a small tree branch that will fit inside the jar and remove any loose bark or debris. If needed, size the branch down by trimming the length of the branches. Apply a generous drop of hot glue to the center of the inside of the lid. Stand the base of the branch in the glue and hold until firmly set. Glue a few of the foil leaves to the branches.

Once everything is dry and set, fill the jar with water and glycerin. For a quart-sized jar, use about a half cup of glycerin and fill the rest with water. Mix with a spoon and add the desired amount of leaf confetti to the jar. If the confetti immediately sinks to the bottom, your mixture needs a bit more glycerin. If the leaves fall slowly, you’ll know that you have used enough glycerin. Carefully insert the tree branch in the jar and twist the lid on tightly. You can also glue the lid shut. Feel free to customize your fall globe with other fall-themed confetti and glitter.

Add some Halloween mood to this craft by spray painting the branch black and adding Halloween-themed confetti like bats and pumpkins.

Cinnamon slime: This recipe doesn’t call for Borax and is full of the warming smell of cinnamon, so it also makes for a fun and safe sensory craft.

You’ll need: An airtight container, a 5-ounce bottle of nontoxic, clear glue, ½ cup water, ½ tsp. baking soda, 1 tbsp. contact lens solution, fall vase fillers such as glass beads, red and gold glitter, cinnamon essential oil and a small bowl.

Add the bottle of glue, water and baking soda into a bowl and stir. Once well incorporated, add the glitter, 2-4 drops of cinnamon essential oil and vase fillers. The vase fillers are an optional sensory element, but is not advised for small children as they can be a choking hazard. Add the contact lens solution and the slime will begin to form. Stir and knead the slime until it is no longer sticky, and enjoy. Store in an airtight container when not in use.

Leaf clay dish: This is a great craft for kids who are a bit older and can make for a pretty gift or decoration.

You’ll need: Air-dry clay, a few leaves, acrylic paint, gloss-finish Mod Podge and a knife.

Gather a few leaves for your mold. Note that wide leaves with multiple points, like maple leaves, will be more difficult to use. Those with a single point will be the easiest to get a complete imprint and then shape into a dish. However, a wide leaf would work well for a bowl shape.

Cut out a piece of air-dry clay and roll flat. Press the leaf firmly and evenly into the clay. Remove the leaf and cut around the imprint’s outline and remove the excess clay. Roll the edges of the imprint inward to form a slight raised edge. Allow the clay to dry and harden. Give it 24 hours for the top to dry, then flip over for another 24 hours to let the bottom dry completely.

Once dry, paint them with fall-inspired acrylic paints like gold, bronze, brown, red and yellow. Apply a few coats and once the paint is completely dry, seal them with gloss-finish Mod Podge or any other sealant you have. If you would like to use these for a soap dish, choose a heavy-duty sealant.