Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Fall Foilage Fun



Autumn is a second spring

when every leaf is a flower.


- Albert Camus


When my children were younger, we enjoyed making simple window decorations with brilliant fall leaves. During the peak of the season, we would go on forays to find large, clearly defined leaves that were fresh off the trees. We took these home to use in our annual leaf art project.

We placed each leaf between two sheets of wax paper. We heated an iron at two notches below the "cotton" setting. We placed a flat cotton dish towel over the wax paper and gently pressed the hot iron down evenly, lifting it as we moved it from spot to spot until the entire creation was stuck securely together and the leaf was safely sealed between the papers.

Next, we made frames for our leaf pictures. We used various types of papers for this, cutting frames in different shapes that suited our fancies: rectangles, ovals, circles, squares, even more complex shapes. Any kind of sturdy paper worked well for the frames. We cut two sets of each shape and glued them with household glue to both sides of the wax paper. Then we trimmed the excess wax paper away. The result was a frame around the translucent wax paper and a leaf in the center of it.

Once our creations were dry, we mounted them on large windows where we could enjoy them. When the sunlight shown through them, they looked like stained glass. We usually stopped for a treat after working -- hot cider or hot chocolate. We played Vivaldi's Four Seasons while we sipped our hot drinks and admired our art. I remember one of my boys saying, "It's magical!"

And it was.
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You can add a bit of science to this fun project by using a guide book to identify the trees of your leaves and studying the process of photosynthesis and why leaves change color in the fall. This can be done on the same day, or on the following day.

3 comments:

  1. I love fall with all the changing of the leaves. Thats a good project to try with my girls, thank you for the idea.

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  2. OH MY Cassandra!!!
    THANK YOU FOR SHARING THIS WONDERFUL IDEA!
    And also...thanks for the detailed instructions!
    We will MOST DEFINITELY be enjoying this in the days to come...perhaps...I will photograph our windows to share with you!

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  3. I plan on doing this with my grandchildren and their Mama(Hodgepodge Mom). Thanks for the great memory of a wonderful fall craft!

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