The golden autumn is just around the corner and, like every year, nature shows its colorful side in September. Red and yellowcolored autumn leavesDespite the cloudy weather, they ensure a happy atmosphere at home and create a cozy atmosphere. To ensure that the decoration made from natural materials really lasts a long time, you should preserve, dry or press the autumn leaves. This means their bright colors last longer. We'll show you how to do it.
Autumn is the right time for a trip to the forestCollecting natural materials. These mainly include autumn leaves. But here too, caution is required because there are many plants that are poisonous. Families with small children in particular should pay particular attention to this, as the little ones can swallow parts of the plant. In some cases, the leaves can cause an allergic reaction when touched. If you want to be on the safe side, it is better to rely on well-known tree and plant species with intense autumn color. These include wild vine, serviceberry, chokeberry, maple and sweetgum. These leaves have an attractive shape and a yellowish-orange-red color. To preserve these saturated nuances, you can preserve the autumn leaves with wax. It is best to use beeswax for this purpose. Since the wax is heated, you should first practice and explain to the children how to use it safely. Otherwise there is a risk of burns. In order to preserve the autumn leaves, you need the following materials:
- Baking paper or cling film
- Autumn leaves
- a pair of tweezers
- wax
- a medium bowl and a smaller bowl or a pot and a bowl
How to preserve autumn leaves with beeswax:
1.Melt wax in a water bath. To do this, simply pour some water into the larger bowl and hang the second, smaller bowl inside. Place the wax in the smaller bowl and heat in the microwave on medium heat for about 2-3 minutes.
2. Optionally, you can melt wax in a water bath on the stove. Proceed similarly to the microwave, i.e. fill 200 ml of water into the pot and then hang a bowl in it. Add the wax to the bowl, heat the water in the pot over medium heat and let the wax melt. Be careful not to let the wax boil or simmer.
3. When the wax has completely melted, remove the pot from the heat.
4. In the meantime, clean the foliage, wipe with a damp cloth and let dry at room temperature.
5. Then use tweezers to take an autumn leaf and swirl it through the wax. Then place the sheet on cling film or baking paper.
6. Continue until all of the fall leaves are coated with a thin layer of wax. Then let the leaves dry for an hour.
You can use the autumn leaves preserved in this way to make numerous decorations. Just be aware that they become fragile so easily.
Drying autumn leaves: instructions
You can also dry the autumn leaves with salt. Spread salt on the bottom of a baking sheet and place the fall leaves on top. Then cover the leaves with a second layer of salt and the baking sheet with cling film. After about a week you can take out the autumn leaves. They can become a bit brittle and fall apart more easily, which is why dried autumn leaves are more suitable for thisDecorations on pictures,screens or on the table.
This is how you should never dry the leaves: Never dry autumn leaves in the microwave, with an iron or in the oven, as this poses a risk of fire. The autumn leaves can of course also dry in the sun, but this often results in discoloration and deformation. The autumn leaves dried in the sun quickly become brittle and cannot be painted, threaded or glued together.
Pressing autumn leaves: This is how it works
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By the way, you can not only dry autumn leaves and preserve them with wax, but you can also press them. Just proceed as if you were drying flowers. Gather several thick and heavy books and place the autumn leaves between two sheets of paper towels. Then stick the autumn leaves between the book pages and let them dry there for several days. You can check from time to time whether the leaves have dried or not and replace the kitchen paper. After a week the leaves should be dry. Similar to flowers, dried fall leaves change color and become golden brown. But they can be painted very easily, for example with acrylic paints or with special paints from the craft shop. They are also flat and are ideal for making autumn wreaths, colorful decorative pictures and creative wall decorations. When the season is over, you can store the dried fall leaves in a dark and dry place until next year.
You can make numerous decorations for your home using dried autumn leaves. However, they are not suitable for outdoor use as they are very brittle and can fall apart. But they can easily withstand heat, which makes them the perfect decoration for the mantel.
You can find great craft ideas with autumn leaves in our article: “Crafting with leaves: 6 simple autumn ideas for animals and figures with natural materials“
