How to Decorate Using Fall Foliage

By eHow Home & Garden Editor

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No time is as colorful in nature as autumn. The leaves change color and turn from green to vibrant yellows, reds and oranges. The sky takes on a crisp shade of blue, and even the evergreen trees look just a little bit greener. Autumn is the perfect time to take advantage of nature's gifts and incorporate some of them into your decorating. Here are some tips for decorating using fall foliage.

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Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Step1

Paint with autumn leaves. Gather a variety of leaves from various trees that are different sizes and shapes. Make sure they are freshly fallen from the tree and still flexible; older and brittle leaves will not work as well. Dip the leaves in paint and press them onto the surface of your choice, leaving behind the leaf's shape in whatever color you choose. This works great as a craft project with the kids but can also be used to add a border to your walls or detail to furniture that needs sprucing up.

Step2

Make an autumn bouquet. Gather together dried flowers outside along with twigs in various sizes, colors and textures, ****willows and any of your favorite autumnal plants. Bundle them together and tuck in colorful autumn leaves for added detail. Tie the bouquet together with raffia or even with some long grass or reeds if these plants are available in your area. Place the bouquet in a vase, and you have all the foliage of autumn in your home.

Step3

Use leaves as placecards or notecards. Take a walk outside and gather some large, smooth colorful leaves. Use silver or gold metallic craft paint to paint names on each leaf and use them as unique placecards at an autumn dinner party. Or write small messages of inspiration or sentiment on the leaves with the same paint and leave them on a bathroom mirror, kitchen counter, or a door to let someone special know how you feel about them!

Step4

Create a unique candle. Find some small and colorful leaves that are flexible enough to bend without breaking. Attach the leaves all around a tall pillar candle in the color of your choice. A white candle will be a nice contrast to the color of the leaves but a candle in a traditional autumn color looks nice, too. Secure the leaves to the candle first with small pins to hold them in place. Use non-flammable decoupage glue or craft glue to glue the leaves in place all around the candle. Remove the pins when the glue is dry and the leaves are adhered.

Step5

Work together to make a family harvest log. As a family, hunt in your backyard or the woods for a good-sized and well-formed log. Make sure before bringing the log into your home and using it for your project that it is free of insects. Make the log into your family's harvest log by painting, drawing and decorating it however you wish. Paint symbols of the season on it such as leaves and pumpkins, stencil the family name or motto on it, or just decorate it to make it look pretty. When everyone has contributed something to the harvest log use it as decoration on your mantel or anywhere in your home that needs some autumn decoration.