Embrace Autumn Beauty Year-Round With An Easy Leaf Craft Hack

Autumn leaves are a mainstay whether you're trying out adorable Dollar Tree DIYs to get your home ready for fall or budget-friendly Thanksgiving decor DIYs. However, if you use real ones, they'll dry and become brittle within a few days. Eventually, their one-of-a-kind burnished hue will give way to dead brown. This will force you to either change out the leaves in your decor every few days or spend money on faux ones, especially for year-round decor. But if you don't like either option, there's an easy hack to preserve the color of your dried fall leaves for decor that really pops: Simply soak them in a solution of one part glycerin and two parts water for a few days. This will help them last years; if you do it well, they might even remain usable after a decade.

Glycerin works in preserving leaves, as it can get into the xylem (the tissue responsible for transporting water). This makes it easier for them to absorb this preservative while losing stored water, which keeps them from drying out. But this doesn't mean that you should break out the expensive bottle you got from Sephora. The cheap vegetable one you'll find at your local store or a cheap bottle by Now Solutions on Amazon will work just fine. The real challenge lies in foraging good quality leaves. You want to get ones that are freshly fallen (or snipped from trees in your yard) and are still flexible. You don't want to pick ones that are halfway dry or have started turning crispy. Also, try getting leaves before the first frost since it can hurt your leaves' structure and make it difficult for them to readily pull in glycerin. Besides these, you'll also need a large container (preferably one with a lid), some water, a large tray, and a few bowls.

Take your container and fill it halfway with your glycerin and water solution. Be sure to mix the two ingredients well. When done, take your fall leaves one at a time and dump them in the solution. You can either put them in with their stems intact (this will come in handy for wreaths, garlands, and as fillers in your vases), but they shouldn't be too long. Otherwise, pluck out individual leaves and put them in. Either way, ensure everything is fully submerged since ones peeking out will dry out and turn crispy.

Once they're all submerged, place your tray on top and balance about two or three water-filled bowls upon it. This will prevent them from surfacing and ruining your plans to preserve them. Finally, shut the lid (or repurpose a tray or baking dish) to keep creepy crawlies and mosquitoes out of your glycerin solution. Now, give your leaves three to five days to lose the water stored in their xylem and soak in glycerin instead. Though this time is enough for small foliage, the large ones might require about a week.

You'll know the time is up when they turn shiny and flexible; carefully pluck out your leaves and spread them out on paper towels (or a dishcloth) so they can air dry. Feel free to dab them with a clean microfiber cloth to speed up the process. Alternatively, hang them on a clothesline to let the sun dry them for you, and they'll be ready for use in no time. That being said, don't be alarmed if your leaves look a bit muted (especially the bright red ones) over the next few days; it's a part of the process.