Redbud Leaf Hearts

These leaf hearts are made from crayon rubbings from a redbud tree – but don’t wait until February for this art project!

A heart project? In September? Well yes! If you wait until February then the redbud trees will be bare and you won’t be able to rub the leaves! So use this opportunity to make these pictures now with your kids – and either keep the pictures until next Valentine’s Day or give them as love messages right now!

Pick some leaves from a redbud tree (get permission if the tree isn’t yours!) that are perfectly heart-shaped, with no holes or tears.

Snip off the stalks, then place a piece of white paper over the top. Take the paper wrapper off a red crayon, lay it on its side and rub the paper.

The imprint of the leaves will come through, looking like perfect hearts!

I set this art activity up for my son, using a small amount of glue stick to attach the leaves to the table, then taping some paper over the top. This way he’d get clear prints as nothing would move. He was fascinated by this!