Recommended November craft ideas for day service centers
November, when autumn deepens and you can finally feel the approach of winter.
As this season arrives, the iconic sights of autumn—starting with the colorful leaves—are coming to an end.
Because of that, some people may want to go out and soak up as much of autumn as possible, but find it difficult to leave home.
In this article, we’re introducing craft ideas recommended for November that allow seniors to enjoy the feeling of autumn without going out! We’ve gathered a variety of crafts, including ones that evoke fall foliage and seasonal flavors.
Please make use of them for craft activities in day service programs.
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Recommended November craft ideas for day service (21–30)
Cute maple leaf thank-you card
How about making a cute maple-leaf thank-you card packed with colorful leaves? Draw a maple-leaf shape on a sheet of origami paper folded in half, cut it out, and open it up—the leaf is ready! Make several smaller ones and stick them on the card cover.
Adding leaf veins with colored pencils will give it a lovely finish.
Try different ideas like a pop-up surprise when the card opens or a slip-in pocket to tuck the card inside.
It’ll make you want to give it to someone special.
grapes
Grapes, a taste of autumn, have a particularly striking appearance among fruits! Grapes are also a classic subject for torn-paper art, so why not give it a try? You make each grape by tearing pieces of washi paper, ads, or other paper—there’s no need to tear perfect circles.
It’s fine to have grapes of various sizes, and even using just one color is OK.
I don’t think you even need a preliminary sketch for grapes, so they make a casual, approachable motif for activities like day-service recreation.
Recommended November craft ideas for day service (31–40)
Grapes × Cosmos
It’s a decoration that strongly evokes the autumn atmosphere, with grapes inside a basket and cosmos flowers arranged around them.
For the grape cluster, use a sheet of construction paper cut into the shape of grapes as the base, and attach accordion-folded circles to represent the berries.
For the cosmos flowers, layer two petal pieces and attach a yellow piece in the center to complete the flower shape.
Next, create the basket weave by alternating strips of long, narrow brown origami paper, wrap it around the grapes, and place the cosmos around the outside to finish.
Each part involves detailed steps, so it’s a craft that tests concentration and fine motor skills.
Grape decoration
Autumn is the season when a variety of vegetables and fruits are harvested.
Among autumn fruits, let’s make a classic grape decoration using origami.
It’s a simple project: just attach grape berries, a stem, and leaves to a triangular folded base.
If you crumple the paper to make textured berries or use different colors of origami for the berries, it will look more realistic—highly recommended.
Besides using it as a regular decoration, you could also attach a string and turn it into a hanging ornament.
maple and lantern
Let’s make a maple-leaf lantern—perfect for long autumn nights! You’ll need a milk carton, wax paper, and origami paper.
Cut off the top and bottom of the milk carton and open it up; cut out windows on the four sides, leaving 1–2 cm along the edges.
Attach wax paper on the inside, then stick maple leaves made from origami paper on the outside.
Tape the corners of the milk carton together with cellophane tape to re-form the box, and you’re done.
Place a small LED light, like the ones sold at 100-yen shops, inside.
The softly flickering light and the maple leaves projected onto it look beautiful.
Wreath of maple and ginkgo leaves
Let’s fold maple and ginkgo leaves with origami and make a wreath! Both the maple and the ginkgo use the same base up to a certain point, and then the folding steps differ, so it’s a good idea to prepare that basic form first.
The folds for both are a bit intricate—some involve offset folding—so they may feel challenging, but take your time and fold the details carefully.
Make three of each leaf, connect them together into a ring, and your wreath is complete.
Try making it with origami paper in your favorite colors!
Colored maple leaf shikishi (decorative square paper)
These shikishi art pieces let you savor the autumn atmosphere with maple leaves! The key is how easy they are to make: simply arrange vividly colored maple leaves on a shikishi board—just a few simple steps.
You can use templates for the leaves or download and print images.
If you use images with gradients, you’ll get a more realistic maple look.
Draw branches on the shikishi with a brush pen or marker, then place the leaves.
The trick is to apply glue only at the base of each leaf and start attaching them from the tips of the branches.
By varying how you draw the branches and the number of leaves, you can create a shikishi full of originality!