There are a variety of things you can do with pressed leaves. In this article, we give you a couple of ways to press and preserve leaves, as well as a few craft and project ideas to do with them!

Some decorating ideas to do with pressed leaves:

·         Place pressed leaves or flowers into pictures frames and display on the mantle or wall.

·         Make beautiful two-sided/see-through placemats with pressed leaves and clear contact paper.  Note: This sounds like it should be simple, but contact paper can be tricky to work with.  The easiest way to make this work is to cut a piece of contact paper about 2 feet long.  Peel back half the paper, have your kids place the leaves on the paper, staying away from the edges by about an inch.  Then, remove the rest of the protective paper and “fold” half of the contact paper over the other half.  It might be difficult to get the sides to match evenly, but don’t worry…get it as straight as you can and then just cut the contact paper down to the size placemat you want.

·         Glue pressed leaves (the wax-paper leaves work best for this) onto construction paper and make homemade cards to send to friends and family. Or, glue onto smaller pieces of paper and make place-settings for your Thanksgiving dinner table.

·         Make pictures from leaves.  The book Look What I Did with a Leaf by Morteza Sohi has some fantastic ideas and creative inspirations.

·         Make a mobile using clear fishing line or white thread and waxed leaves.

How to Press Leaves:

·         Gather fall leaves while fresh and vibrant.  If you pick them off the ground, make sure there is no mold or dirt on them. Also, brittle leaves do not press well; choose freshly fallen leaves or ones still on the trees.

·         Press between the pages of an old book or between sheets of newspaper with a heavy book on top; press for several hours and preferably overnight.  The purpose of pressing leaves is to dry them completely; the various projects work better with dry leaves (note: you want them dry but not brittle).

Wax Paper Ironing Option

·         Set the iron on medium-high with NO STEAM.

·         Sandwich the leaf between two pieces of waxed paper.**

·         Place an old rag or thin towel on your ironing board so that you don’t get wax on it.

·         Place the “sandwich” on top of the rag.  Then cover it with another thin towel (such as a dish towel).

·         Gently run the iron over the leaf. Don’t press hard at first; give the wax a chance to seal.  Once it has, press firmly on the iron, moving it over the area being pressed for 4-5 seconds.

·         Allow the pressed leaf to cool, then cut around it, leaving a small margin so that the wax stays sealed.

**For extra sparkle (and for those kids who just LOVE to use glitter) sprinkle a little glitter around the leaf at this point. You can also put crayon shavings around the leaf; they melt beautifully when you iron.

Dipping Option:

This method allows a little more flexibility when you decorate, because you’ll be working with the actual leaf (as opposed to a leaf sandwiched inside contact paper).

·         Melt 1 lb beeswax or paraffin in a double boiler. Don’t let the wax get too hot, however.

·         Take the leaf by the stem and dip quickly into the wax. If your kids are going to do the dipping, you might want to have them hold the stem with a pair of pliers (or something similar) so that their hands don’t get so close to the wax.

·         Hang leaf by a clothespin to dry.