How to Make a Leaf Collage

Colorful foliage makes autumn a beautiful season. The variety of color and shapes can bring out one's creative genius, and capturing a little bit of the glory of fall is irresistible. You can experience the wonderful fall colors but also preserve them and bring them indoors for all to enjoy. With the use of a simple "frameless frame," this project is quick and easy for artists of all ages. Put on your sweater and get started.

Things You'll Need

• Glass clip picture frame (Available at superstores and drugstores)
• Heavy book
• Spray adhesive
• Variety of leaves

Instructions

1. Go for a walk in a park or wooded area, and collect a variety of leaves in different shapes and sizes. Choose colorful leaves in good condition. Try to get some Autumn Blaze Maple leaves, some purple leaves from a white oak or gray dogwood tree, and some yellow-orange leaves from a Pacific Sunset Maple. Most varieties of ash trees, as well as some willows and black walnut trees, produce beautiful yellow leaves.

2. Collect some smaller leaves and twigs from colorful shrubs. Spirea and honeysuckle bushes produce fabulous red colors, and witch hazel and yellow twig dogwood will give you some great yellows.

3. Dry and press leaves in a book or under another heavy source. The flatter the leaf is, the easier it will be to work with. Dictionaries or a magazine with bricks or rocks on top will do nicely for this step. Allow to dry for a week under heavy weight.

4. Take the back piece of cardboard from the glass frame. If there is no cardboard included, get a thin piece of white foam core board and cut it to fit the glass. Foam core board is a slightly spongy board used in framing. You can find it at local art supply shops at little cost.

5. Spray the cardboard or core board with spray adhesive product. Apply the adhesive in a well-ventilated area.

6. 

   Lay out your leaves. Arrange the leaves in an attractive pattern, overlapping and applying at different angles as you work. Try to cover all the white space of the cardboard. Don’t worry about top layers not adhering--just place leaves gently where you want them.

7. Lay the glass over the collage.

8. Gently flip the glass and cardboard collage over, and fasten the clips of the frameless frame. Run the framing string along the clips to tighten and tie off.

9. Flip the frame back over, and you have a beautiful fall leaf collage.

Tips & Warnings

• Get the kids in on this project and spend a nice day outside collecting leaves of different colors.

• Be sure leaves are dried before framing. Leaves will become brittle over time, so this is a short-term art piece to enjoy for a few months.

Resources

• Tree varieties
• Frameless frame