Sun Prints
The perfect craft to do in the summer sun, making beautiful prints of leaves, flowers, and whatever else you can think of.
Sun Printing
🌍 Activity Type: Nature craft • Science activity • Creative exploration
⏱️ Time: 5 - 15 minute in the sun, then 5 minutes to rinse, and time to dry,
🎒 You'll Need: Sun print paper, flat natural treasures (such as leaves, feathers or flowers), a sunny spot and a water tray for rinsing
🧼 Mess Rating: ⭐⭐☆☆☆ (2/5)
👀 Senses Engaged: Sight · Touch
🌱 Nature Links: Plants • Trees • Wildflowers • Seasons • Sunlight • Observation • Patterns
😊 Difficulty: Easy
Little Leopard has loved his teacher this year, and I wanted him to make him a special thank you card, it seemed a lovely opportunity to try sun printing. It's child-led and nature based, but unlike most other nature crafts, you're almost guaranteed that it will look lovely.
I've seen some other methods on the internet with using sugar paper hung in the sun to get the same kind of thing, but I wanted the full on, vibrant effect, so I ordered some cyanotype paper.
I've also seen fabric printing in the same way, which we'll be trying soon.
It took us a couple of goes to get this activity right. The instructions included with the cyanotype paper were madly vague, and assumed that we would know that the film would need to be removed from the acrylic sheet before exposing to the sun. I did not know this. It also suggested running it under a cold tap rather than using a water tray. These 2 things resulted in terrible results.
So I researched more and we tried again . . .
1 - Collect interestingly shaped leaves and flowers.
2 - Remove the film off the acrylic sheet. Then place the flowers and leaves wherever you like on the paper, put the acrylic sheet over the top, and place it in direct sun for 5 - 20 minutes until the sheet has turned more of a bronze-y colour.
2 - fill a tray with water (we used a baking tray), and gently swish the paper in the tray for about a minute to get the chemicals off.
The colour will start turning, don't panic, it'll continue to get more vibrant as it dries.
3 - lay it to dry on a towel, out of the sunlight (it doesn't have to be a dark room)
Once it stops dripping you can hang it up to dry on a line, and feel like a professional, developing your prints.
Then voila, you'll have a beautiful sun print to frame, to turn into cards, to remember beautiful leaves and flowers. This is one of those activities that becomes addictive to the kids after they've done it once and seen how easy it is, and how magical it is creating prints from sunshine, and seeing how they change and reveal themselves after the chemicals have reacted in the water.
I absolutely loved doing it and pretending that my bedroom was a 'dark room'.
Adapt it
Younger Children
Keep it simple by choosing large, easy-to-hold natural treasures like big leaves, feathers or flowers.
Let your child arrange them on the paper, then enjoy the excitement of revealing the finished print together. It's a lovely opportunity to talk about the different shapes, colours and textures you've found.
Older Children
Experiment with different natural materials to see which create the clearest prints.
Try layering leaves and flowers, compare thick and thin objects, or repeat the activity at different times of year to create a seasonal collection and explore how changing plants produce different patterns.
Sensory
Take time to explore each natural treasure before you begin.
Notice how the leaves, flowers or feathers feel, smell and look, and talk about their different textures, shapes and patterns together. If your child doesn't enjoy collecting certain materials, let them choose objects they're comfortable handling or bring natural treasures from home instead.
Enjoy swishing the water gently in the tray.
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