Fall Leaf Garland

Hey all!

Can I just say that literally ALL my Fall decor ideas this year came from Pinterest? This particular craft is super quick, easy, and pretty. Sarah at Clover Lane posted about the idea, and I've been excited to collect leaves for a few weeks now.

The perfect leaf collecting opportunity presented itself this last weekend when we visited Kinsey Family Farm, and we couldn't be happier with how easy the project was or how well it turned out! The whole project cost less than $5. Note: Be super careful while doing this project. You could easily maim yourself with the melted wax, and I won't be held responsible for that.

Here's what you'll need:

1. Wax (we used Crafty Candles because we couldn't find Gulf wax)

2. A Disposable Pie Plate

3. Fall Leaves of all shapes sizes, and colors. Like these.

4. Thread or fishing line 

5. Wax paper

Here's what you do:

Once you've collected your leaves, set them all out to make sure they're dry.

In the meantime, melt your wax in a disposable pan. CAREFULLY, on low heat.

And lay out some wax paper.

Once the wax is melted, turn the burner off. Then, carefully dip the leaves into the melted wax (I obviously got a little impatient since the wax isn't completely melted in the picture below).

 

Coat them well, then gently shake off the excess. Finally, lay them on the wax paper to dry.

We let ours set up for around an hour. Once the wax hardens, the leaves peel right off.

Finally, tie the leaves together with some thread or fishing line. Be really careful not to tangle the thread. (Tangle it anyway. Cry in shame.)

Finally, hang the leaf garland wherever you like.

As a complete aside, while we were on the way home from KFF on Sunday, we saw a park with some beautiful trees and decided to stop.

 

Pretty, yes?

As we pulled into the park, I noticed some older teenagers with fake swords and cardboard shields battling in the grass. That's when I realized they were LARPing. 

For those of you who aren't familiar with the term (probably everyone), LARPing stands for live action role playing. It's synonymous with nerdery--I can say that because I am a nerd--and it's pretty entertaining to watch. 

While we walked Jack around the park picking up pretty leaves on a peaceful Sunday afternoon, these kids kicked up a cloud of dust while fighting a medieval battle, complete with costumes and lingo. It was awesome, to say the least.

Even Jack got in on the action by bowing down to signal his readiness for battle.

Now that you know about LARPing, I hope you'll go join in a medieval battle or something. Happy Tuesday!

-T, K, J & C