Thursday, October 11, 2012

Garland from Real Fall Leaves

Last month we visited my sister and took a picnic in the canyon.
RJ collected a grocery sack of fall leaves, and I thought of something to make with them.

So first to preserve them and prevent them drying out and cracking, I soaked the leaves for 4 days in:
2 c. water
1 c. glycerin

I laid all the leaves in a cookie sheet and poured the glycerin solution on top, then put another cookie sheet stacked on top to keep them flat.
After a few days, the leaves feel soft and leathery.  I just rinsed them off and let them dry.

Then to make the garland, I sewed them all together with a long stitch length to reduce the number of holes in them.

After a few feet, I thought it would have been better to use invisible thread.

But in the end I probably ended up with 15 feet of garland, so this is doubled, then looped in our dining area. 

You can always buy the fake ones, but I like the fact this is actually real leaves and has a lot of different colors in it...plus it was free!
I'm not sure how long it will last, I'm hoping a few years.
The glycerin really makes the leaves have quite a long life span from other projects I've done.

15 comments:

  1. That is super cool. I love this idea. We never really get fall colors where I live. It just freezes and then everything drops. But what a fun idea! Thanks for sharing. :)

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  2. I predict a pinterest explosion on this post!!! So great!!! I love following your blog! :)
    -RaeAnna
    http://sewingmamaraeanna.blogspot.com/

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  3. This is gorgeous!!! I wish our leaves would turn already!!!!! I'm so impatient for fall.

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  4. That is so cool! I've never heard of preserving the leaves with glycerin... now I gotta try it. =)

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  5. Interesting. I learned something new today. I think my kids might like it if we tried it! Thanks for the idea.

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  6. Cute! I love the H in the background...I remember when we made those in Kirksville! I still have mine too! Happy Halloween Jessica!

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  8. I've never even heard of such a thing! I have glycerin in the cupboard, so we're going to have to give it a try when we find some leaves worth collecting. Thanks for yet another great idea!

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  9. I've never actually purchased glycerin, my mom has a huge gallon jug I've been dipping out of.

    But if your local grocery store has it, it's usually in the pharmacy/ medical section. It's used to make soaps, so there's a chance they may have it on the laundry soap aisle with the borax and other soap making ingredients.

    I think pharmacies carry it as well.

    Good luck!

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  10. what a neat thing to show something youor son collected in such a prominent way. looks quite nice too more Falll-ish rather than halloween.

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  11. I just purchased some parrafin wax at the grocery store to do a similar project (as discovered on Pinterest, where else). We'll have to compare notes dto see which version lasts longer!

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  12. what a very nice and clever idea!

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  13. What a great idea!! I had never heard of preserving leaves either. I wish we got Fall leaves here. I'd definitely do this.

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  14. I love this! Such a great project. Can not wait until our leaves begin to change and fall to try this out! Thanks for a great idea.

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