Preserving Fall Leaves For Decoration

I do it to clean up colourful surrender folio on my walks around the farm and through the Natalie Wood . Generally , I just project them on the table surrounding the ubiquitous pumpkin for the harvest dinner . Scattered randomly , they will curl and lose colour quickly , which is all right sometimes , but if I need them to remain colorful and hold in their shape for Thanksgiving , I go to the redundant step of preservation .

There are two agency I care to preserve the leaves : with wax or with silica gel . The counselling for each are below , along with didactics to make wax light hurricane for the table .

Waxing Method

Supplies

Preparation

In a double kettle or craft griddle , melt the wax in a small genus Pan .

position the leaf in the wax and expend a brush to fully coat both side . overturn up the leaf , and get all the superfluous wax drop off . Go back over it with the brush to make indisputable the wax is n’t too thick .

Place the climb leaves on a piece of wax paper to chill and harden .

article-post

Silica Gel Method

rank a layer of silica gel in the bottom of the container , about 1/2 in thick . Lay the leaves in a unmarried layer on top of the crystals . Carefully tote up more silica gel on top of the leaves , allowing the leaves to retain their shapes . total more layers of leaves and gel as needed as needed .

Seal up the container and let teetotal for several days . you could check for sobriety by cautiously lifting out a leaf and come back it if necessary . overturn the foliage out of the crystals , shake off any crystals that are stick using a brush or by blowing . Spread out the leaf on paper . In an area with good ventilation , spray gently with polyurethan on both sides and allow to dry .

Wax Paper Candle Hurricanes

Cut off two sheets of wax newspaper publisher , each 12 inch long , and lay one sheet on top of an honest-to-god table or an press board . coif the parting on the paper leaving a small space between them and on all the edges so the wax can varnish in the foliage . Place the other sheet of paper of wax theme and then your second erstwhile towel overtop . Patricia Lehnhardt

Iron on low hotness . Check under the towel to ensure the wax paper has sealed the leaves and that they ’re pressed flat . permit to chill . Patricia Lehnhardt

Cut out four rectangles , 4 - by-4½ inches each .

Preserve leaves for decorative use by coating them in beeswax or soy wax.

Patricia Lehnhardt

Run a bead of mucilage along the 4 - inch side of one rectangle ¼ inch in from the boundary , and seize a 2nd opus of foliage paper . The seam will help to stabilise the hurricane . Open up and cover on , as in sewing , observe the bed all on one side the ruined side on the other . Patricia Lehnhardt

Glue three twigs on the crinkle . Fold over the last sharpness , and glue the strip together to imprint a box . Glue on the last branchlet .

Set on your table , forming it into a boxful , and insert a glass votive candle .

One way to preserve leaves is to coat in silica gel followed by a layer of mat polyurethane spray.