Once you have preserved the beautiful fall leaves, you can use them for a variety of art projects. Here are some of my creations:

I- Canvas art using fall leaves

II- A Bowl of autumn magic

III-Circle of life / Framed art

IV- Pine decor

I – Canvas art using fall leaves

Create your own magic with a beautiful blank canvas. I tried a darker impasto background to highlight the light yellow and red fall colors.

For this you require following materials :-

1. A canvas (size is your choice) easily available in any art or craft store or Walmart.
2. Acrylic or oil paints (watercolors will also do, depends on what look you want)
3. Gel medium if you plan to make an impasto art piece. It’s also easily available in art stores in a variety of textures gloss/matte etc.
4. Mod podge to apply over the leaves (Read how to preserve fall leaves here).
5.  Brushes
6. Glue stick just as a back up, usually the leaves  stick with the drying paint.

Think of a concept and preserve the leaves before you start. Place it on the canvas and get some perspective before you go crazy with the paints 🙂 Once your background is ready start placing the leaves in place and apply another coat of mod podge over them individually, carefully (without disturbing the background.)

Leave it to dry for a day, the colors become slightly dull (lesser in value) compared to when you collected them from outside. But, they still look beautiful.

II- A Bowl of autumn magic

For this master piece you need:

1. A mixing bowl or balloon (I read about using a balloon but have not tried it myself).
2. Kitchen clear wrap to cover the bowl.
3. Mod podge.
4. Brush to apply mod podge.
5. Pot pourri with fragrant oils sprinkled on them, pine cones, or whatever you plan to keep in the bowl eventually…

Technique:

Step #1– Cover the bowl with clear wrap.

Step #2– Apply a thick layer of mod podge over the bowl, or balloon whatever you are using.

Step #3– Place the leaves flat all over front side facing down, cut the stems it helps in placing the leaves flat. Apply more mod podge and again place another layer of leaves with front side facing upwards.

Step #4 – After the two layers of leaves apply more mod podge to seal the deal and cover with clear wrap again to tighten the leaves over the bowl. leave it like this for more than a hour.

Step #5- Remove the top layer of clear wrap, by now the leaves would have conformed to the bowl shape. Allow it to dry for a day. Next day slowly separate it from the bowl and remove the clear wrap. If you were using a balloon instead of a mixing bowl then pop it.

Step #6– Fill it with holiday fragrances of Pot pourri, pine decor pieces or whatever you want. Just remember this bowl is very fragile and just for decorate purposes.

III- Circle of life/Framed art

I got this idea on one of my walks, when I saw few different color leaves. How the season changes and how leaves change colors is a simple reminder of the circle of life.

That got me thinking and I decided to collect the various colors of leaves to create a framed art piece. I carefully selected the colors I wanted and started toying with designs.

My man gave me the brilliant suggestion to frame it with a quote in between and our pictures on the four corners of different seasons! This is such an awesome gift idea for any of your loved one’s and it is a wonderful way to preserve nature and your pictures together.

IV- Pine decor

This is an age old way to bring the holiday fever in your home, it is beautiful and very economical. For my complete and detailed post on pine decor click here.

I wish you enjoy these DIY projects as much as I did and your home is blessed with holiday cheers and laughter for the rest of the year!

Hope this information was helpful. I hope you inspire me by sharing your fall leaf DIY projects 🙂