Autumn Leaf Wreath

Question: What do you get when it’s November and you have four maple trees and four oak trees in your back yard? You guessed it….LEAVES.  We have no shortage of leaves at our house. Zoe (my 5-year old) was helping me rake when she proclaimed, “Mama, we should make a wreath.” I looked at my little peapod and thought, “Why didn’t I think of that?”

Now I’m not the craftiest of gals, but I’m nothing if not resourceful. I don’t have things like ‘wreath rings’ just hanging around the house…and quite frankly I didn’t want to go to the craft store and spend money on said ‘wreath ring’.

What I did have was a large-ish cardboard box, some white glue and a whole lotta leaves…oh yes, and a very willing participant :-).

I turned out really cool, if I do say so, and took about 30 minutes to make, not including glue drying time. This is a wonderful way to say hello to autumn and the cozy days to come.

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Here's what you need:

You need glue, a cardboard ring and well...lots of leaves.

1. Leaves – preferably ones that have recently fallen and not
too dried out yet.

2. White glue, like Elmer’s.

3. Cardboard – big enough to cut a wreath out of – 12″-14″ for outer
diameter is a good size. We used a cardboard box and cut out one of
the sides for this.

4. Scissors and/or box-cutter (This tool is for the adult, of
course).

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Here's what you'll do:

Gather a grocery bag of leaves…as many different colors as you can find in your yard or neighborhood.

Cut a ‘wreath’ out of cardboard. It can be as big or as small as you’d like, but 12″-14″ for the outer diameter works nicely.
The edge width of your ‘O’ should be about 3″.

Glue a base layer of leaves all the way around the wreath. Then, overlap layers, gluing as you go, until all of the cardboard is hidden.

Hang the wreath wherever you’d like for a fresh harvest feel to any room. We’ve found that if we store it verrrrry carefully, it lasts from year to year.

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