Make a Fall Leaf Garland - free printable included!
Ann Marie Craig • October 30, 2020
Leaves from the grounds of Century Farmhouse tell stories about the trees they came from and provide inspiration for a leaf garland to add an autumn touch to your home.
After winter, autumn is one of my favorite seasons. Perhaps it is something about the light, or the colors of the trees in our beautiful northern clime. Perhaps it is the fleeting nature of those colors that makes me want to hold on to them a little longer. Collecting a few leaves and pressing them flat to dry is fun! This year, however, I decided to collect a few choice leaves from the Century Farmhouse yard and woods and use them as templates for a garland. I love that each of the leaves I chose can tell a story about how the tree came to be in our yard. The snowball bush was planted circa 1910 by my great-grandmother Anna Tennies Wagner before she moved from the farm in 1912. The maple tree was planted near what we call "the duck coop" - the garden house our farm kitties call home - around 1970. It was moved from the woods because my parents wanted to add a few more trees to the landscape around this old log cabin. The oak tree was similarly moved from a fence line where it was in the way. Instead of cutting it down, my mother dug it up and replanted in outside our front door around 1978. That tiny oak leaf is a bonus, found in our woods on a walk last week.
Make the garland!
Materials: printable (below), colored papers, scissors, hole punch, string or twine
1. Simply print the leaves on the printable (link below) onto colored papers or even on to papers with patterns or designs.
2. Cut the out the shapes - this takes the longest time, but I find sitting with a cup of tea and some soft music helps to set the mood and makes the cutting a little more fun. It really doesn't take long unless you've printed enough leaves to fill a tree.
3. Then punch two holes about 1/2 inch apart on the leaf.
4. Use twine or string or a ribbon to weave the leaves into a garland. String two leaves together to create interest.
5. Knot loops onto the ends of the garland and hang from window locks or nails, over windows, doors, your mantel, or on a wall.
Have fun!
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