Sun Print Cards
A Beautiful Fall Family Activity
Autumn invites us to slow down, notice the details, and celebrate the beauty of the season. One of my favorite ways to do this is through a fall family activity that combines art, nature, and a little magic: making sunprint cards.
Using light-sensitive paper, natural elements, and direct sunlight, children can create delicate blue-and-white prints that capture leaves, flowers, and grasses in a unique and beautiful way. It’s a hands-on project that sparks curiosity, creativity, and connection.
What You’ll Need
- Sunprint or cyanotype paper
- Sturdy cardboard
- Clear acrylic sheet (often included in kits)
- Natural objects: leaves, ferns, grasses, wildflowers, dried flowers, seed pods
- A small tub of water
- Optional: blank cards and glue to mount finished prints
How to Make Sunprint Cards
✨ Tip: For the best results, do this fall family activity at midday, when the sun is directly overhead.
- Collect your treasures outside: leaves, dried flowers, or those last wildflowers of the season.
- Place your objects on the sunprint paper, blue side up.
- Cover with the acrylic sheet to keep everything flat.
- Leave in the sunlight for 2–5 minutes, until the paper changes from deep blue to almost white.
- Remove objects and rinse the paper in water for a minute. The exposed areas turn deep blue while the covered areas remain pale, creating delicate silhouettes.
- Dry flat and mount onto blank cards if desired.
Why I Love This Craft
Sunprints are a way of bottling up the season. This fall family activity was one of my favorite projects when I taught film photography at a summer camp. Watching the image appear felt like magic—and for older children, it’s a perfect opportunity to explain how film works in cameras.
Each card becomes a keepsake, a little piece of autumn you can hold, display, or send to loved ones. It’s a beautiful way to capture the fleeting colors and textures of the season while enjoying meaningful family time.
A Note on Seasonality
While sunprints can be made with any natural object, fall is especially magical. Leaves, dried flowers, and seed pods tell the story of the season, making each print a tiny record of October’s beauty.
The Beauty of Simple Rituals
Like many hands-on autumn projects, this fall family activity is as much about the process as the result. Gathering, arranging, and creating together fosters connection, curiosity, and memories your children will carry long after the prints are tucked away.
If your family loves this project, you might also enjoy our tutorial on preserving fall leaves with wax paper—a simple craft that turns autumn walks into lasting keepsakes.
