Fall colors
By sabber_96
Why do leaves change their color? It is a
process of getting ready for winter! There is not enough light or
water in the winter for trees. They live off the food they stored in
the summer. As the green fades, you see yellow and orange colors.
Those colors have actually been there all summer long, you just can’t
see them because of what makes up the green color. Purples and reds
are seen mostly in the fall. Trees like maple trees trap the sugars
inside. Sunlight and cool nights turn the sugars into reds. Brown
colors are made from the waste left in the leaves such as with Oak
trees.
Leaf crafts
Collecting and
preserving leaves
Only collect leaves on sunny days after
the dew has dried.
Press leaves within one hour after
collecting and before they get dried out.
Place the leaf in between 2 pieces of
paper towel to collect any moisture.
Place them in a book, or under a flat
surface with pressure on top of it.
Press for 7 to 10 days. Changing the
towels after the first 2 days will help to insure dry leaves.
You can place in photo albums, in between
clear contact paper for place mats, or in frames.
Leaf patterns
Pick fresh moist fall leaves.
Using a muslin material, place a leaf on
top of the material.
All you need to do is hammer on the leaf
with either a hammer or a block of wood.
Continue to hammer leafs on your material
until you have your desired pattern.
Let material dry for a short time after,
brush off any left over leaves.
That is all there is to it! Frame it, make
a pillow cover, whatever you like from your work of art!
Leaf collage
Using tempera paints in fall colors, lay
leaves in paint, place on construction paper or fabric to make a
pattern from the leaf. You can use brown construction paper and clear
contact paper to make place mats!
Leaf prints
(this one I used to do as a kid!)
Pick fall leaves.
Use a piece of wax paper big enough for a
few leaves, fold it so you have a top and bottom.
Arrange your leaves in your own way.
Fold wax paper over leaves and iron on
medium setting until the paper seals in the leaves.
