Summer is over, and when there’s a chill in the air, it’s tempting to stay inside all day. Don’t let your family hibernate in front of a screen for the next six months. Get active with these fun crafts, using the most abundant resource of the season: leaves! A Craft for Kids: Leaf Critters With this fun project, the leaves in your backyard transform into works of art featuring your kids’ favourite animals. THE BEST FALL-THEMED LEAF CRAFTS Make Like a Tree Directions 1. This project works best with leaves of different shapes and sizes. Does that big, round leaf look like a squirrel tail? Is there a long, skinny leaf that would be perfect for a butterfly’s body? Let your kids go through the leaves and think of what masterpiece they can create. 2. It helps to arrange all the leaves on a piece of paper first, then glue them down once your child knows how they want to piece their creation together. Cover the whole side of each leaf with glue and press it firmly onto the paper so that it lies flat. Repeat until all the leaves are glued down. Place the critter somewhere safe to dry before hanging it up for all to see. A Craft for Grown-Ups: Clay Leaf Bowls These simple little bowls bring an elegant touch of fall to the indoors and can be used to hold candles, keys — or pretty much anything! Directions 1. Roll your clay out to a 1/4-inch thickness and place each leaf, vein side down, onto the clay. Run your roller over the leaf, pressing it into the clay and making your clay thinner at the same time. 2. Cut the excess clay from around the leaf to produce the desired shape. 3. Create a small bowl out of aluminum foil to cradle the clay leaf while it dries into a bowl shape. Remove the tree leaf and let the clay dry overnight. Be sure to flip the clay over at some point so the underside dries too. 4. Once the clay is dry, you can paint your bowls or coat them in a clear varnish to enjoy a minimalist look. Who says the fun has to end with summer? With a little imagination and a whole lot of leaves, your family can create amazing works of art together! Materials • Paper • Glue • Lots of leaves Materials • Air-dry clay • Leaves • Clay roller • Clay scissors or craft scalpel • Aluminum foil
Myth #1: You’ll save money by keeping the house at a constant temperature. 3 Myths About Home Heating Truth: While this may make for a comfortable return if you’ve been out all day in the cold of winter, it won’t save you money. Running your furnace constantly to keep it at your ideal temperature will use energy to keep it that way. When you leave the house, set the thermostat a few degrees lower. Setting your furnace to 10 degrees lower when no one is home, or even at night, can save you at least 10 percent on your bills. Myth #2: Dialling up the heat will heat the house faster. Truth: Setting your thermostat to 85 degrees won’t heat the house any faster than if it were set to 75 degrees. Instead, you’re using more energy as the furnace heats all the rooms in your home to a higher-than-desired level. This also causes problems because it can be forgotten — someone who wants to heat the house quickly may turn the thermostat up high and forget about it until someone notices it’s unusually warm. At that point, the furnace could have been running for a long time and therefore used much more energy than you want.
Myth #3: A fireplace will save you money.
Truth: Ultimately, this isn’t entirely true because it requires a few factors to make it cheaper. Having to buy the wood to keep your fireplace going all through the winter won’t necessarily save you money unless you have ample amounts of free firewood at your disposal. Also, a fireplace won’t necessarily heat an entire house like a furnace can. Unless you’re willing to turn the heat down in the rest of the house, settle with heating one room, and have a fireplace with a sealed glass door, your savings will be slim.
2 • www.lewismaclean.com
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