Use Mod Podge to save those beautiful red, yellow, orange and purple fall leaves for this year and the next and the next.
Toss a few newspapers in the back of the car. Anywhere you find gorgeous leaves, gather them and place them between pages of the newspaper. Place another group of papers on top to provide just enough weight to flatten the leaves gently and prevent them from curling.
When you get home, carefully move your stack of papers to an area where they will be undisturbed for a couple weeks. No need to press under heavy books unless you just want to.
I do not press leaves I am going to scatter about on tables, I just let them dry between pages of newspaper. The newspaper prevents curling and cracking but keeps some of the original texture so they appear more "leaf like".
For pressing leaves, flowers and foliage really flat, I use an old sketch pad and press under heavy books for a couple weeks.
Now for the Mod Podge magic part! Once the leaves are dry, gently brush on a coat of matte original Mod Podge and let dry.
Turn over and brush another coat over the back surface and let dry. Repeat with a second coat on each side of your leaf.
It's like magic! Your leaf becomes flexible and supple again, and the original color reappears! And your leaf will last and last for years!
I have never sealed mine with acrylic spray, but you may wish to do so with yours. So far, I haven't found it necessary.
Now - even more Mod Podge magic! Amy of Mod Podge Rocks is giving away a starter pack of five 2 oz. bottles of Mod Podge - one each of Gloss, Matte, Sparkle, Outdoor and Paper! And Amy tells you how to use each one here!
Enter right now! The deadline is midnight, Saturday, September 26th! FIVE winners will be chosen!
What a great way to celebrate just 90 days until Christmas! Thank you Amy! I hope I win! I hope, I hope, I hope!
What a wonderful crafting
What a wonderful crafting tip! I had no idea. Thank you for sharing!
We loved this idea but have
We loved this idea but have not had positive results. We collected, painted both sides and let them dry. They looked gorgeous!! We moved them to another room and a few days later when we returned they were dried out and very frail. Any tips? Thanks
I am so sorry to hear that
I am so sorry to hear that you had this disappointing experience. A couple things may have contributed to the problem.
First I want to make sure that you did press your leaves between sheets of newspaper and weighted with books for about two weeks before using them, as instructed.
And it is very important to use two thick coats of Mod Podge on each side.
In my own experience, I have found that two thick coats on each side of the leaves is very important in preserving them. I learned that fact the hard way on my wreath. I used whisper thin coats of regular Mod Podge on several leaves as I was trying to use up the last of the bottle. Those leaves have not done very well on the wreath on my front door, becoming dry, crackly and brittle. Thick coats are key. Thickly coated leaves on the wreath seem to be doing just fine.
If your leaves will be displayed anywhere there is moisture in the air, like outside or a steamy kitchen, it would be wise to use outdoor Mod Podge. It does a better job of sealing out the elements. And a coat of Acrylic spray would be a good idea as well for even more protection.
I have had no problem keeping these leaves beautifully in my home for almost a year now. Those pictured at the top of the post were 8 months old when I made the photograph.
Thank you for the reply! We
Thank you for the reply! We are excited to try again. We were in such a rush to have the finished leaves we didn't let them dry out long enough. Love all you ideas, thank you so much for sharing them with all of us.
Well what a nice leaves. I
Well what a nice leaves. I love the purple ones :)
This would be great to do
This would be great to do with my 2 year-old, but I don't have the Mod Podge stuff...is there anything else I can use to preserve them? I'm in Germany so it's hard to find a lot of things for us. Thanks!
oh wow, what a great idea. i
oh wow, what a great idea. i am going to make some and send them to my friends in texas. thanks for the tutorial.
Oh Wow. This is the coolest
Oh Wow. This is the coolest thing! We will be doing this tomorrow.
Thank you!
I knew there had to be an
I knew there had to be an easy way to do this! thanks!
What a great way for the kids
What a great way for the kids to save some beutiful fall leaves!
I can't wait to try this!
I can't wait to try this!
I would love to win this!
I would love to win this! That is such a cute idea, I will be sure to try it!
beautiful! I love mod podge
beautiful! I love mod podge and would love to win this!
Thanks for the idea, Pam!!!
Thanks for the idea, Pam!!! I can't wait to try it with Goose and Binky!
Hope you are well!
Lisa
That is SO cool! I love the
That is SO cool! I love the idea of keeping newspapers in the car. I lost a stack of leaves jsut last week. I'd picked them up on a hike and left them in the back seat. Just one day later they'd curled and broke. What a great idea. Mod Podge is sooo amazing!
I've never tried the stuff,
I've never tried the stuff, but I need to now! I love the idea of saving leaves that way.
I used to refer to duct tape
I used to refer to duct tape as The Force that Binds the Universe- but these days I know it's really mod podge!
Great idea Pam...I'll be
Great idea Pam...I'll be breaking out the mod podge as our leaves are now starting to turn.
Who knew they had come out
Who knew they had come out with all of these new "flavors"?? Great idea - it would be a fun project for kids to gather the leaves.
Pam, I used to do this as a
Pam, I used to do this as a kid when we first moved to Canada. My cousins in Ontario,who I hadnever met before, showed me how to do this. Except I don't remember if we sealed the leaves with anything. We used roses and petals, too.
Great idea! Happy Fall/Autumn!
You come up with the most
You come up with the most fascinating ideas Pam!!!
I just 'happened' to have a bottle of modge podge with me. Now I need to run and get some leaves before we leave on Friday. Autumn with beautiful leaves doesn't happen till March in Az.
I don't know if this is open
I don't know if this is open to international readers but just wanted to say this is a great idea and a wonderful way to captue the beauty of all seasons.
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