Pin 154

Original pin:

http://www.designsponge.com/2011/10/diy-project-autumn-leaf-bouquet.html

Aren't these beautiful? Roses made from fall's leaves.

I thought this would be a cute, easy, and free little decor item to get us in the fall spirit. We need that since this weekend it was 88 degrees!! Really? The first week in November?

I decided this would be an easy project to solicit the boys help on with gathering leaves and sticks so we took a little "nature walk." Look at our colorful collection:

These should turn out beautiful, right?

It took a few tries to get the feel for how to fold it and how to hold it. The browned edges of the leaves were a little crumbly. I did have to make a second trip outside for more leaves. I had suspected that the brown leaves would be too dry to fold and manipulate, but I had thought that the fallen leaves that weren't yet brown would be okay. Turns out, if they were on the ground they were too dry. I went back out and harvested some leaves off the tree. I chose ones that were changing color and came off without having to tug. Literally I would touch them and they would fall off in my hand. Most of my leaves came from my Autumn Blaze Maple tree (appropriate for the project, right?), but I did manage with some leaves from my Bradford Pear tree also.

I had trouble finding a good place to photo these for you, but here are my best shots:

 Mine are not even comparable to the original. I don't know if it is because her technique is spot on or if she had different kinds or sizes of leaves. My overall presentation was underwhelming and just feels a little sloppy.

 Like I said, these pictures are not great. I couldn't get the right lighting and the right background color to show them off well. But maybe because they just aren't that pretty?

I highlighted my different one here:

 With the Bradford Pear leaves, I didn't fold them like the maple leaves in the tutorial. I just wrapped them around and around each other.

I made a few little buds too. Once the flower started getting full is when leaves started tearing and it started looking sloppy so I tried a few flowers with just three or so leaves.

Total time: 2 hours in collection and manipulation

Total cost: $2.99 for two rolls of floral tape. I probably used 1/2 of one roll.

Final verdict: Mine are rather ugly. I won't be heartbroken to toss them in the trash. I still think it is a neat concept and that the original ones are beautiful. I thought they would be brown and crumbly by the next day but they are actually still the same colors as they were when I made them and that was a week ago now.