Decorating with Fall Leaves

1. Leaves for the table ... My sister did this at the cottage for her Canadian Thanksgiving and it looked so rustic. All she did was lay a trail of colorful leaves down the center and then sprinkled a handful or so of acorns. Pretty impressive for a Thanksgiving Dinner!

2. Do you remember when you were a kid and the teacher would tell you to bring in some colored leaves? We would then place them between two sheets of wax paper and wax them. It's been a while, but I remember being pretty impressed... even at that age.

3. Let your kids make place mats using butcher paper and crayons. You probably remember this one from your school days too. You place the leaf on the paper and then shade the edges vertically. Regardless of how neat it is, the kids will think they contributed something to the meal.

4. Fill a wide bowl to sit on the coffee table and fill it with the prettiest leaves you can find. A few chestnuts and pine cones will  make it even better!

5. Fill a vase with bare branches and tuck in a few leaves that you have preserved in one of the many ways listed on this page. I particularly like the glycerin idea. ( http://www.hometrainingtools.com/preserving-autumn-leaves/a/1366/)

6. Then there are the leaves that you can buy at the craft store. I have several strands that I use around the house. One really effective way is to arrange them with candles along the mantle.  If you are looking for a warm, homey look for your living room, I think this is both easy and affordable.

7 Rope the leaf garland mentioned above around a grapevine wreath. The can be done in seconds flat.

*And here is something that I do at our house. I make two wreaths and suspend them from a length of craft ribbon that I can hang OVER the front door. (The door closes completely when you use a ribbon instead of one of those plastic wreath hangers that  hooks over the door.) One can be enjoyed by the neighbors and the second the family can enjoy from inside the house.