Thinking of ways to use those pretty leaves you found in the garden this fall? There are tons of activities and crafts you can do in the autumn. And these leaf jars are a favourite of ours. You can put them on display with a little candle to make your home look cosy. Alternatively they make a great little gift during the holidays.
The colours are just amazing as they change during September and October time. Some places are more lucky than others and we are very fortunate to experience this every year.
But they don’t stay there for long. And if you’re anything like us in the fall, you are forever having to rake leaves. They look pretty but not so much when you have to clean them up!
Thats why we try to make use of them. And what better way than crafts!!
Each and every leaf you find is different to the next. Whether it be their shape or just the colour. I am just in awe of the trees in the fall. Every year it is just spectacular to see the colours when you are driving around.
Children also find it fascinating to see all those colours. But they always have that wonder. Why do the leaves change colour? Why do they fall from the trees once summer is over? You can get some great books about leaves and incorporate it into your classroom lesson.
Creating Our Leaf Jars
For our leaf jars we collected lots of pretty leaves. Different shapes, sizes and colours. Before we started out, we pressed our leaves into a book for a day.
Pressing your leaves will flatten them out and make it is easier to work with them when you come to do your jars. They may still tear a little as real leaves do tend to rip easier. However pressing them will help prevent this from happening less.
Lay all the leaves out once they have been pressed so you can see the different shapes and colours.
Depending on how long you leave them to press, some of them may lose their colours. However you should still have a variety of shapes in your leaf pile.
Adding Your Leaves
To add the leaves to the jar you need LOTS of glue. We used regular white school glue as it coats the jar better. It is a very messy activity so make sure you have your table protected and any clothing you don’t want getting ruined.
It may look like your leaves won’t stay. They do tend to curl up as you try to paste them on. However once you add plenty of glue, they do stick into place. You can always wrap your jar in cellophane to keep them in place. But I was worried I wouldn’t be able to take it off once the jars were dry. Luckily we didn’t need to.
We left our leaf jars to dry overnight. They will need at least 24 hours to dry as it will also take this long for them to harden. You can check on them after 24 hours and if they need touching up a bit with more glue you can more.
Once your jars are dry and the leaves have set, you can add some twine round the top. This is just for decoration. You can also use ribbon if you prefer. If you are giving the jar as a gift you might want to add a tag with a nice message.
All that’s left is to add a candle! 🕯
Your leaf jars are finished and ready to display. They make a lovely cosy addition to your living room in the cold winter months. Our jars turned out really great and were so super easy to do. We may do more! You could even make them and sell them at a craft fair.
More Leaf Ideas!
If your looking for more inspiration on how to use those leaves with the kids, check out our leaf animal craft! Or how about some leaf turkeys for thanksgiving!
1
