Bring In The Beauty Of Fall With An Inexpensive Leaf Craft

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Of all the odes to autumn, Robert Frost's poem "Nothing Gold Can Stay" perhaps best captures what is otherwise ephemeral: the leaves of fall. For autumn-loving crafters, finding ways to preserve the essence of those red, green, and gold leaves floating gently on the wind has become the top job. Achieving this goal isn't as difficult nor as costly as it might seem. All it takes is a little knowledge of leaf preservation and the know-how to string together a mobile to make autumn's leaves a little less evanescent. 

Because this easy leaf craft uses mostly materials you can find in your own backyard or in the foothills behind your house, its cost is minimal. You'll turn fall leaves preserved in beeswax or glycerin into the objects suspended on the mobile's frame. To create the armature for the mobile, tap fallen branches — select some that are closer to straight than bent and a few that are more gnarly and twisted. This combination will make the mobile both visually interesting, thanks to the visual contrast between the branch types, and more structurally sound at the same time. A string of fairy lights illuminates the display. Something like Fairdeer Battery-Operated Fairy Lights is what you're looking for. They'll only set you back about $5.

You'll also need a few other items to pull the autumn leaf mobile together. Grab a pair of needle-nose pliers and some scissors from your toolbox, as well as white or tan sewing thread and some floral wire. Lastly, don't forget some ceiling hooks so that you have the option to style the fall leaf in with your decor once the project is done.

You'll build the hanger for the mobile first. Check the branches for any loose bark and other debris that could shed onto your floor and clear that stuff off the branches. Next, arrange the branches in a bundle, mixing them together so that the tips of them fan out a bit, like the top of a tree. Then secure the bundle together with the floral wire — something like Zerofy 22-Gauge Brown Floral Wire would match the color of the branches.

Next, attach two hooks to the ceiling, and hang the bundle from the hooks using sewing thread tied to either end of the bundled branches. This piece has the potential to be a focal point, so you may want to hang the hooks somewhere prominent, like over the fireplace or a window. Then, wrap the string lights around the branches, hiding the battery pack on a nearby floating shelf or behind the branches — stick the battery pack to the wall with Command Assorted Picture Hanging Strips if you're afraid it'll fall off its perch. Each strip is only about $0.50 a piece, allowing you to keep this DIY budget-friendly.

While the lit branches are beautiful as-is, leis of hanging leaves give this piece movement and depth. However, before stringing the foliage, you have to preserved each leaf for long-lasting color.

There are a couple of ways that you can preserve the color of the fall leaves for this project, including dipping them in baths of beeswax or glycerin. The cost on these materials runs between $6 and $15, keeping the materials within most crafters' budgets. 

If you're working with wax (like Beesworks Yellow Beeswax), start the process by flattening the leaves between books. You want leaves that are still pliable and have not yet turned "fall crispy." Once they're flat, dip them into the melted wax. Then lay them out on a sheet of parchment paper to cool. Dipping them in glycerin (like SimpleNature 100% Pure Vegetable Glycerin) is your other option. To do this, bathe the leaves in a mixture of one part vegetable glycerin to two parts water, keeping them submerged for five days. When the time is up, lay the leaves on a bed of paper towels and dry them. Once this part of the process is done, the foliage is ready to hang on your autumn leaf mobile.

To make the leaf leis, take a foot of thread, and tie the stems of the leaves in place a few inches apart. Each string should have between five to seven leaves hanging on it. Leaves from trees like the sugar maple and the oak make for especially pretty designs. Then, tie the completed strings of leaves onto the branches, distributing the foliage all across the length of the bundle. Now you have an autumn-inspired focal point that adds visual interest and a little mood lighting to the room.