Giant Cardboard Leaf Craft – Preschool Fall Art Project

Try this giant cardboard leaf craft for an engaging fall activity! Perfect for preschoolers, this project combines art and seasonal fun.

A young child stands outside, smiling and holding two colorful, painted cardboard leaves with tape creating "veins" on the surface. The child is dressed in a bright orange shirt and checkered shorts, adding to the cheerful, autumn-themed setup.

Giant cardboard leaf craft for kids

This fall art project is super simple, easy to customize, and brings a pop of color to any space.

It’s loaded with fine-motor fin and it’s perfect for little hands eager to paint, peel, and explore/

PLUS, it’s a fun way to use up the pile of boxes that you might (definitely 😂) have building in your garage.

Whenever I use cardboard for kids’ crafts, I always laugh to myself thinking, “See? This sweater I ordered came in a box, and I’m using the box, meaning it’s for the kids.”

Let me know if you ever need me to justify a purchase for you. I’m here for you, friends.

A close-up of a preschooler's hand holding a paintbrush, applying green paint carefully to a taped cardboard leaf. The texture of the paint and cardboard adds a tactile feel to this fall art project for kids.

Why kids will love this giant cardboard leaf craft

This isn’t just any craft—it’s BIG fun!

Kids will love painting giant leaves, creating stunning patterns, and peeling back the tape to reveal a hidden design.

We’ve been doing variations of this Fall craft for years and it’s always a show-stopper.

And with a little imagination, these leaves can transform a classroom, playroom, or living room into an autumn wonderland!

You’ll love these other fantastic Fall crafts:

Materials

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Cardboard
Something to cut cardboard – for adults only (I used a mix of a boxcutter and scissors before the kids even arrived)
Blue painter’s tape
Kids’ paint
Paintbrushes
Optional: glitter, sequins, or other decorations (adding extras once these are dry is soo fun!)

A preschool-aged child, dressed in a green shirt, focuses intently on painting a large cardboard leaf with painter’s tape in vein shapes. The child uses a red paintbrush, and the workspace is covered with bowls of paint in fall colors.

How to make giant cardboard leaves

Cut out the leaves: Have an adult use a utility knife to cut out giant leaf shapes from cardboard.
Add tape for leaf veins: Use blue painter’s tape to create vein-like patterns on each leaf.
Get painting: Let kids go wild with fall colors! Paint the entire leaf, covering both the cardboard and the blue tape.
Dry and reveal: Allow the paint to dry completely. Once dry, carefully peel off the blue tape to reveal the leaf veins in negative space.

Close-up of four bowls of paint in fall colors—green, orange, red, and purple—each with a small amount of brown paint mixed in, creating a rich, earthy palette perfect for this preschool leaf activity.

Why did I add brown paint into the paint bowls?

Adding just a whisper of brown paint into your bowls of colorful kids’ paint instantly transforms the vibrant colors into fabulous, Fall-ish colors.

I loooove playing around with paint colors (could you guess?) all throughout the year, too.

In the Spring, add a touch of white to your colorful paints to make them perfectly pastel.

In the winter, a small smidge of white + black (grey) changes the tone to feel Wintery.

A young girl in a bright orange shirt with a matching orange bow smiles at the camera while holding a paintbrush. In front of her, a cardboard leaf in progress showcases rich fall colors, adding joy and vibrancy to the fall craft setting.

Giant cardboard leaf craft tips and tricks

Want to take this preschool leaf activity to the next level? Here are a few tricks to make it extra special.

Trace your leaf outlines on the box before cutting them out.

Try using metallic or glitter paints for added sparkle. Adding just a touch of metallic gold or silver paint to your regular colorful kids’ paint is stunning. As I was helping the girls pull the tape off I did think, “We should have added gold, too!”