Getting Creative: How I’m preserving colourful Autumn Leaves for a pretty collage

One of my bucket list items for Autumn 2024 is to create a pretty collage of different leaves I’ve found on my walks. So far, I’ve collected some lovely examples, and, in order for them to retain their beautiful colours, I’ve spent time pressing and preserving them. Today I’m sharing my process with you so that you can have a go yourself if you would like.

Step 1

When going on a woodland walk, I usually take a small, plastic popper wallet to place my leaves into. This keeps them flat and protected from the elements. It also means I can collect plenty of different examples and not have to worry about them getting spoilt. Before putting the leaves in the folder, I check the reverse of them, looking for any tiny creatures which might be lurking there.

Step 2

I’ve been collecting my leaves for several weeks now, and as soon as I get them home, I examine them carefully and then gently wash them. When checking the leaves, I looked for signs of mould on them or general decay and discarded any which looked too blackened, dry or crumbly. For this reason, I try to collect as many different leaf and colour examples as possible.

To clean the leaves, I use a cotton wool ball dipped in warm water and wipe each on the front and back before leaving them on some kitchen towel to dry. I’ve been amazed how much invisible dirt is on some of them!

Step 3

After allowing the leaves to air dry, I press them by putting them on card stock layered on top of each other with a heavy book placed over all of the layers. I then wait for 24 hours before removing them. It’s surprising how much moisture come from them and soaks into the card.

Step 4

After pressing the leaves nice and flat, it’s time to coat them in a preservative. For this, I use a bottle of gloss mod podge. I paint the sealent on one side using a decoupage brush and then leave them to dry, before repeating the process on the back. The mod podge has a really strong and not particularly pleasant smell, so I try to make sure I open a window whilst working. The silcone mat you can see on top of my self healing mat is from Hobbycraft and can be washed clean with warm soapy water afterwards.

Step 5

As the leaves were drying, I found that some of them curled up again so back under the cardstock and heavy book they went! Others remained completely flat so we’re ready for my collage. Some of them were difficult to get completely flat but I’ve still kept them as they will add dimension to my collage.

The collage so far…

I’m still in the process of collecting my leaves but here’s the ones I’ve finished so far. I intend to fill my table with them later on in the season, but I’m thrilled with what I have so far. The Mod podge makes them super glossy, and the colours really pop.

Final words…

I’m sure many of you collected and played with leaves as children but there’s no reason why you can’t have fun doing the same as an adult. I think the finished, glossy leaves would look great displayed on a mantlepiece or scattered on a table but there are many other creative ways to put them to good use once they’ve been preserved. I found this page on the Woodland Trust website which has some additional leaf craft ideas as well as a number of ways you can put fallen leaves to good use in your garden.

Let me know in the comments if you’ve enjoyed any Autumn season crafts already this year or if you’d like to give preserving leaves a go. Searching for beautiful colours on the trees and scattered on the ground during woodland walks is a great mindful activity and, in my opinion, a lovely way to destress on a weekend.