How to preserve Autumn leaves

Nature has been very generous this year, giving us an abundance of berries, nuts and acorns. And who doesn't love a conker when it first pops out of its shell, all shiny and smooth? The leaves are also about to fall down from the trees in all shades of red and brown, and they can make a beautiful table and window decoration.

There are various ways to preserve leaves:

1. Press them

2. Dip them in wax (beeswax or paraffin)

3. Soak them in glycerine

The first method dries out the leaves completely while the second and third methods replace or retain the moisture of the leaves inside them, meaning that you get a more flexible and less brittle leaf. Wax preserved leaves are stiffer than glycerine preserved ones, so bear this in mind when choosing your method. I will focus here on the latter two methods.

Preserving leaves is a great activity to do with children, though care has to be taken with the wax method to avoid burns. The glycerine method involves the process of osmosis, and although you can't see this happening, it's a good way of explaining the concept to children.

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Beeswax method

What you need to preserve Autumn leaves with beeswax

• Autumn leaves - ideally pressed, but you can use fresh ones too as long as they are quite thick - thin (and unpressed) leaves tend to wilt in the heat of the wax

  
  

• Beeswax - about 100g

• A double boiler (or glass container with a flat base and a cooking pot that's wide enough to hold the glass container above it)

• Baking parchment/greaseproof paper

• Tongs

  
  

• A spoon (for stirring the wax, and for pouring the wax over the leaves)

How to preserve Autumn leaves using beeswax

Collect some leaves on an Autumn walk. Put them between sheets of paper and press them for a few days - this will ensure they are nice and flat and that they no longer retain any moisture.

Take a block of beeswax and melt it in a double boiler (see my tip below about how to clean the bowl when you have finished). The pot should be small enough for the melted wax to have about 1cm depth, and big enough for the leaves you have collected to lie flat in it.

Fill a pot with water and heat it up on your stove. Place the bowl with the wax block or pellets on top of the pot and allow the wax to melt.

Now dip the leaves into the wax (you can use tongs as the wax is hot). Allow the wax to drip off each leaf before placing it on some greaseproof paper to harden.

If you are doing this activity with children, you will have to supervise the process at all times. Give children a pair of tongs to dip the leaves in the wax

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Glycerine method

Glycerine is a substance that attracts water molecules (glycerine soap is popular because it moisturises the skin). So when we dip leaves into glycerin, the water content that is left inside the leaves is bound to the glycerin, keeping it from evaporating.

What you need to preserve leaves with glycerine

• Autumn leaves that still have moisture in them

• 1 cup of glycerine

• 2 cups of water

• Two bowls that fit inside each other - one large enough to hold the glycerine, water and leaves, the other to weigh them down.

How to preserve Autumn leaves using glycerine

Mix the glycerine and water in the bowl.

Snip the stalks off the leaves - This helps the glycerine-water mix to enter into the leaves.

Place the leaves into the mixture, making sure they are all coated. Weigh the leaves down so that they are all submerged in the water and leave them for two to five days.

Lift the leaves out, let each one drip off a little and place them on a tea towel to dry.

How to use the preserved leaves

Because of their pliability and flexibility, preserved autumn leaves can be used for crochet and embroidery projects. You can embroider them onto paper, or add a crochet lace trim to them.

But I think that Autumn leaves look lovely on their own, scattered on a table or console - if you have a nature table, that will be the obvious place for them.

They also make a beautiful window display as the Autumn light enhances their colour.

You can also attach them to some twine or ribbon and turn them into a garland that could be draped around your banister or hung above a doorway.

Why not incorporate the colourful leaves into an Autumn wreath along with berries and acorns?

Tip:

How to remove dried wax from a container it was melted in

When you have finished preserving all your leaves, pour any beeswax you wish to keep into a separate container (an old jam jar will do). Then add some cooking oil to the double boiler or bowl and heat it up again until any hardened wax has softened. Using kitchen paper, wipe out all of the oil and wax (being careful not to burn yourself) - use a few pieces of kitchen paper, one at a time, until the bowl looks clean. Then give it a wash with warm soapy water and it will be back to its former state.