Novita, I've tucked dried autumn leaves around the edge of a tray or bowl of fruit or nuts....or how about edging a basket of potpourri? I've posted here before about pasting red Japanese Maple leaves to a sunny bathroom window... just for a few weeks as they faded even in winter sunlight but it was fun. Now I'm using a piece of clear acrylic that I just prop on windowsill with dried ferns at present, but autumn leaves soon (it's still hot here and doesn't feel at all like Fall). I just use a dot of Elmer's white glue and it washes right off with water...so easy to change often.

Have you used the acrylic spray yet? You might notice a couple of recent forum threads on if/how well it works. Any info on your experience with it would be welcome.

Hope others will chime in. My only other suggestion is to maybe paste a few in your garden journal. They hold color well and it's nice when looking back through to run across them, especially of things you've planted. (Flowers too of course).

josh

Thanks very much for the suggestions, Josh. I haven't done anything yet as I'm making a big swag which is taking up all the room on my work table but I am going to try the acrylic soon.

I have lots of little side tables (I love tables!) that I cover with cloth and then top with glass. Several years ago, I hit upon the idea of putting pressed leaves (Japanese maples are my favorite in large part because they are so rare this far north) over the cloth and under the glass. I placed a piece of sheer plastic, cut to fit over the top of the cloth so that the leaves wouldn't stain it (even dried, they can still drop pigment), and arranged the maple leaves in a swirling pattern, or any other pattern to suit my mood, and put the glass on top. The leaves stayed perfect for years, I rearranged them at my whim, and could add any other pressed leaves/flowers that I desired. Violets, pansies, dafodills, rose petals, all have been added to my under glass table top displays to make it seasonal and fun. When candles are added to the mix, it lights up the beauty of all the pressed wonders shimmering under the glass.

When I can afford it, I am hoping to have a large oval piece of glass cut to fit my dining room table so I can play with my pressed leaves to my heart's content on a big scale. I think about how cool it would be to have Thanksgiving dinner with all the trimmings on the table and all the beauty of fall showing with its bounty safe underneath from gravy splatters, maybe adding pressed holly leaves and mistletoe for Christmas.

Fall, despite spelling an end to all my lovely gardens, is my favorite time of year, and commemorating it gives me incredible joy. My under the glass table top arrangements are for me some of the coolest things I've done.

Kate

That's a great idea, Kate. I'd love that except all my tables are piled with books and tropical pot plants, or baskets of pods, seedheads, cones. etc. I do have miles of bookcases which support various frames which I can fill with dried material. It's a constant war for space around here between books, live and dried plants...LOL

I'm going to give this further thought...maybe I could clean off just one table...LOL josh

Kate, that sounds so lovely - I may give that a try too. I don't have any glassed table tops but I could get one. Thanks for the input!

I did a project this year which turned out wonderful. I pressed & dried autumn leaves (as well as flowers), then sandwitched them in between 2 sheets of glass. Using stained glass foil around the edges, seal the 2 pieces of glass with the foil. Depending on the thickness of the leaves, they may need to be spot glued to keep them from sliding. I also cut one inch wide strips of stained glass for each side which served as a colored frame. Then soldered the entire thing together. To hang them, I took a piece of tree branch, drilled a whole on either side, and wired the glass panel to the tree branch. Even glued some pine cones to the tree branch to give it the natural feel. I use them as well hangings. You can get the clear glass, colored glass, foil, etc at a stained glass store or online. Total cost for the project is about $10, depending on the cost of the glass that you use as a frame.

If you don't have the stained glass ability, you can always buy pre-cut clear bevel panels in a variety of shapes and sizes, and just foil them together with the leaves inside for wall hangings, coasters, and suncatchers. They make nice gifts as well.

Hope this gives someone else more ideas.