Journal

Making dried leaf rings

At this time of year - when it is dark outside and I'm not able to spend much time outdoors - I love to make things with leaves and seed heads foraged from the garden.

I originally made versions of these leaf rings to decorate walls at a wedding but they are so simple and quick that I have made them most years since.

You need.

Leaves - these need to be flat rather than crunchy. Acer, hornbeam and oak all work well.

Wire - any kind that will make a circle.

PVA glue/spray paint

Glue gun.

Paper.

Step 1 -

Press and dry your leaves. I do this between sheets of paper put under a rug. Leave until dry and flat - about 5-7 days. Try and get leaves that are similar sizes.

Step 2 -

Paint leaves with dilute pva glue. I used wood glue. Paint both sides and leave to dry. Alternatively you can spray the leaves with spray paint - do this as several light coats and leave to dry.

Step 3 -

Make a circle from wire. Any flexible wire works - if it is too floppy, like the wire I used here, just use a few strands together. Make a little hanging loop at the top.

Step 4 -

Use a glue gun to attach the leaves to the ring. Start at the top, covering the loop and then glue leaves partially on top of each other, working your way around the ring.

Try to keep the sizes relatively even so that the leaves form a circle. Don't worry about small size differences though as the final ring will still look circular. If you look at the final photo you will see that the ring isn't perfectly even.

Step 5 -

Hang on wall - either with a ribbon or a drawing pin through the hanging loop. These rings are very fragile at their edges and best hung rather than propped. They look great hung as a group.

I would love to see your photos if you make these - and also please let me know if there is anything here that isn't clear and I can update the tutorial - Jane@snapdragononline.co.uk.

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