Leaves:

 I am a great believer that children are very capable of making their own stencils, even 5 year olds.  These Year 2 children drew their leaves onto card first, and once cut out were able to use them to place their leaves evenly around the page.  They were encouraged to also show part of the leaf near the edges.
We had done a lot of pattern work and they divided up the leaf into sections.  The background was then dyed, taking extra care not to go near the leaf shape.  Once dry they inked the shapes and patterns choosing certain patterns to stand out.