How to Gather and Press
Leaves
Gather leaves and slip each leaf between folds of newspaper.
Keep edges of each leaf flat. Do not try to dry leaves that have
already turned brown. When you get home, sandwich he leaves between
several single sheets of clean, dry newspaper. Cover the stack
with more newspaper. Finally, cover your stack of pressed leaves with a
piece of cardboard or a thick magazine and pile books or a couple of
bricks on top. Leaves usually take one to two weeks to dry out. Transfer
leaves to dry sheets of newspaper, if necessary. When leaves are dry,
store them between single sheets of newspaper or pages of a magazine
until you're ready to start on the projects. Don't leave dried
leaves in the open air.
Leaf Collector
Books
Press leaves and use to decorate a school notebook or scrapbook.
Glue the leaves to a construction-paper background, then onto the books,
and cover with clear self-adhesive vinyl.
Match-and-Learn Game
Create leaf cards using crayon rubbings of leaves. Create a game
board using the same technique. Preschooles can learn to match
leaf shapes.
Colorful Catchall
A paper wastebasket or cardboard box makes a good-looking catchall when
coated with red and gold leaves. Attach overlapping leaves to the
surface, let them dry, then seal in the arrangement with clear
self-adhesive vinyl.
Framed Beauties
To show off choice leaf specimens, frame pressed leaves between two
sheets of glass and hang the "picture" in a window. Use
standard floating frames - leaves "float" between the layers
of glass or plastic.
Hand-painted T-shirts
Make a unique t-shirt - using one or several leaves, repeat the one leaf
shape in an overal pattern or use a variety of leaf shapes. Use
washable fabric paint.
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