In honor of National Fossil Day (which was yesterday, October 12th), Earlybird and I made some homemade, backyard "fossils!"
I found directions for making leaf fossils online here ... and since the day was nice (and this craft was a bit messy) I decided to set up our work area outside.
We began by measuring and mixing the flour and salt ...
Then we dug up the next ingredient ~ dirt!
Earlybird (who is in dire need of a haircut!) added the dirt ...
... and then the water.
He mixed it all up ...
... and then kneaded the "dough" on some wax paper.
Once our "mud" was thoroughly mixed, we shaped it into egg-sized balls ...
... and lined them up on the wax paper.
(I won't tell you what we thought they looked like, but I bet you can guess!)
Next, we flattened our mud balls into 1/2-inch thick patties.
Now, Crackerjack was going to participate in this project too, but he's currently fighting a wicked cold and felt too "yucky" to pitch in. He did join us for a short walk around the yard, looking for leaves and seeds, etc. to "fossilize," but then hurried back inside "to get warm."
Here are our fossils in progress ...
We carefully and firmly pressed the leaves, seeds and feathers into the mud. (Full disclosure ~ I did this part; EB was too impatient, lol!)
We then carefully peeled the natural items away, leaving behind subtle imprints...
Fossils!
We moved them to a cookie sheet and brought them inside to dry overnight. And in the morning they looked like this:
Now, Fossil Day may have come and gone, but this is a great craft/science project to do with the kids at any time of year!
In fact, I think fossilized autumn leaves would make lovely place markers and/or favors for Thanksgiving dinner! You could always make a plain, tinted dough (instead of one using dirt), using shades of green, gold, orange and brown. Poke a hole at the top while the dough is still soft and then thread a pretty ribbon through to serve as a loop. Just a thought!
Well, I hope you all had a nice day - it's very rainy and raw here, but the house feels quite cozy as I finish up this post. The lights are on, the boys are busy, the kitchen smells great and Bill just walked in the door. So that's my cue ~ I'm off till next time!
Have a great night, everyone ...
:)
