Sparkle Craft: Pressed Leaf Wreath
What’s happening in your area this time of year – are the nights getting cooler? and the leaves starting to turn?
Perhaps you live someplace where the leaves don’t turn and fall.
Either way, whether the leaves you collect are red and orange and yellow or still a brilliant green, this pressed leaf wreath is fun to make!
Join Martin & Sylvia with this week’s Martin & Sylvia: Saturdays! story, “True Colors,” as they collect leaves, preserve them, and turning them into something newly beautiful.
You Will Need
Freshly Fallen Leaves
Thick Heavy Book
Mod Podge
Paintbrush
Embroidery Hoop
Hot Glue Gun
What To Do
Start by collecting some freshly fallen leaves. If you live in an area where the leaves change colors in Fall, like Martin and Sylvia, you can collect leaves then. If, like Martin and Sylvia’s Grandma, you live in an area where the leaves don’t change and fall, green leaves work just as well! Just pick a few off your favorite trees or shrubs.
Place the leaves between pages of a thick, heavy book. The leaves may leach a little moisture, or color, onto the pages, so be sure to choose a book where that won’t bother you. Once the leaves are sandwiched inside, place the book at the bottom of a stack of books so there is a good, firm heavy pressure.
Wait.You’ll want to check your leaves from time-to-time, seeing if they’re fully dried and ready for making a wreath. If you’re like we are, you might just forget about those leaves pressed between the pages and discover them the very next year when you go to press more leaves – a pleasant surprise!
Take your pressed leaves and gently paint them on one side with a thin layer of Mod Podge. The Mod Podge will keep your leaves from crumbling.
Wait. Let that layer of Mod Podge dry all the way.
Using hot glue, attach the leaves to the embroidery hoop. Use any size hoop you’d like, but if you’ve got larger leaves you’ll probably want at least a 12-inch diameter hoop.
Explore More & Make Connections
Martin and Sylvia send their pressed leaves to their Grandma. Is there someone you would like to send leaves to? Who? Why?
Aside from making a wreath or sending the leaves, what else could you do with your pressed leaves? What else might you make?
About the Authors
Andrea Folsom
Andrea Folsom describes herself as a writer, editor, creative maker, and eternal optimist. She is passionate about learning and sharing new creative techniques, making beautiful spaces, and talking about the social-emotional benefits of creativity and art. She runs Crafting Connections - a website providing inspiration, practical advice, and projects for creative families - with her close friend Danielle Reiner.
Danielle Reiner
Danielle Reiner describes herself as a creative, a maker, and a mama. At the heart of her story is creativity, though that hasn’t always been the case. She rediscovered her deeply hidden creativity early in adulthood – with a ball of yarn and a couple of knitting needles – and hasn't stopped since. Danielle also runs Crafting Connections - a website providing inspiration, practical advice, and projects for creative families - with her close friend Andrea Folsom.
