How to dry leaves. How to keep autumn leaves bright and beautiful for a long time What to do so that maple leaves do not dry out

How to dry autumn leaves and dry flowers for applications, read our material.

Autumn rainy days and long winter evenings are simply made for creativity. But the material for it must be prepared in advance. Today we will tell you how to properly dry, paintings and herbarium.

Almost any flower - from a fragile field to a luxurious garden rose, any leaf and blade of grass can become not only a part of a school herbarium, but also turn into an ikebana, a postcard for your beloved grandmother, material for decoupage, scrapbooking and a real picture that will become an excellent decor for your home . But for this you need to know how to properly dry the leaves and flowers.

There are dozens of ways to dry leaves and flowers. You may be surprised, but the herbarium does not have to be flat at all - if you dry the leaves and flowers correctly, you can save their original shape and color. There is even a way to instantly prepare raw materials for crafts from natural materials, which will help you a lot if you found out that your child needs to bring a herbarium to school tomorrow before going to bed.

How to Dry Leaves and Flowers: Cold Drying

The easiest and most well-known way is to dry autumn leaves under pressure, that is, in books and magazines. Leaves and flowers are simply shifted with sheets of paper or paper towels on both sides and placed under the press.

The paper needs to be changed every day to remove the absorbed moisture. Flowers and leaves will be ready to use after a week. If the workpieces have become too brittle, dip them into a solution of water and PVA glue (4 parts water 1 part glue), and then dry.

Leaves and flowers that you want to use not for herbarium and paintings, but for creating garlands or other crafts, can be dried without a press. To dry, lay the plants out on paper and gently flatten them out.

Tie the flowers in bunches and hang with the inflorescences down. The room should have good air circulation and be relatively dry.

Some plants can be dried in a horizontal position on a wire rack (for example, ivy). Some are best not turned upside down (Physalis).

There are also plants that wither faster than they have time to dry out (hydrangea, bulbous, heather, chicory). They need air drying with immersion in water of the stems: cut the lower part of the stem at an angle of 45 degrees and place it in a vessel with water to a height of 7.5 cm.

How to Dry Leaves and Flowers: Hot Drying

Hot drying, that is, drying with an iron, is ideal when you need to dry the leaves for the herbarium for tomorrow. Also hot drying can keep the original color of the cornflowers.

Lay out the leaves and flowers on paper, cover them with another paper layer on top and iron until the moisture evaporates from the plants.

Single large flowers whose petals are rich in liquid, such as roses or tulips, can be dried in an oven at a low temperature. Watch the process carefully: the flowers should not turn brown.

How to Dry Flowers and Leaves: Powder Drying

This method, how to dry flowers and leaves, is not quick and easy. It will require loose substances with hygroscopic properties: sifted river sand, semolina or corn grits, salt or crushed chalk.

Powder drying has its own advantage: it completely preserves the shape and lively color of plants or inflorescences.

Ignite the sand in a pan so that there is no moisture left, and let it cool. Pour 2 cm of sand into a cardboard box and place flowers on it.

Sprinkle sand gently on top until the plants are completely covered.

After two or three weeks, holes need to be made in the bottom of the box so that the sand spills out.

Shake the dried flowers lightly to remove any remaining sand. Such flowers can be used for three-dimensional paintings or making floral arrangements.

It is easy for children to be carried away by something new and interesting. If the child is already bored with drawing or modeling, you can invite him to make crafts from bright autumn leaves. This process is utterly fascinating - amazing things are born from simple dried leaves with the help of glue, threads and other improvised devices. Having engaged in applications or making vases and bouquets, the child will not only be able to develop his creative skills and imagination, but also get to know the environment better. Collecting a herbarium for crafts is a great opportunity to teach your child to distinguish between different tree species. So, what can be done from the leaves?

Preparing leaves for crafts

For the manufacture of any leaf craft, only well-dried material is needed, fresh leaves will not work. Preparation of leaves takes a long time, so you have to be patient. In addition, you need to dry the material correctly, here are the basic rules:

1. If the evenness of the leaves is not important for crafts, they can be placed in a spacious container (for example, a large wicker basket) and left in the fresh air. So the leaves dry quickly, and air circulation will not allow mold to develop.
2. To get perfectly smooth leaves, you need to lay them between book pages or landscape sheets under pressure. Carefully spread the material between the sheets of books or albums. It will take at least 14 days for the material to dry completely and be ready for use.
3. If you do not want to wait a long time, you can use a special herbarium press. To do this, fold a stack of leaves, alternating each layer with newsprint or scrap sheets. In a few days, the material for crafts will be ready.

How to make leaf skeleton

Skeletons of leaves due to their lightness and transparency look very impressive as a decor. To achieve this effect, you need to resort to a special technique - skeletonization.

What you need:

• any fresh leaves;
• soda;
• egg dye;
• small capacity - ladle or pan;
• Toothbrush;
• paper napkins.

How to make skeletonized leaves:

1. Mix soda with water in proportions of 1 to 4 and put the leaves in the prepared solution so that they are completely hidden by water.
2. Bring the mixture to a boil and let it simmer for 30 minutes.
3. Remove the saucepan from the stove and remove the leaves, lay them carefully on the table, glossy side up.
4. Remove excess moisture with paper towels.
5. Peel off the pulp from the leaf with a brush (this must be done very carefully, the leaves are quite fragile).
6. Rinse the skeleton under water, and then paint it in the desired color.
7. Leave the painted skeletal leaves to dry.

The resulting material is ready for use.

Bouquet of flowers from leaves

A bouquet is the simplest thing that can be made from leaves, and it is worth starting with it if the child has not previously been engaged in such crafts. To make crafts in the form of a homemade bouquet, it is not necessary to use real flowers, dry them, etc. Buds can be made from multi-colored leaves collected on a walk. Connect children to every step of the process, creating a real creative workshop.

What you need to make crafts:

• maple leaves (fresh) with stems;
• spool of strong thread.

To make a bud from maple leaves, you will need to perform several steps:

1. Take one sheet first and fold it glossy side out.
2. Roll the sheet into a tube.
3. Fold the next sheet in half and wrap it around the straw.
4. Continue to wrap the bud with leaves until the flower is quite lush.
5. Wrap the base of the bud with thread so that the flower does not fall apart.

With this method, you can make any number of flowers, which are then simply collected in a bouquet.

Topiaries can be made from a variety of materials. You can often find crafts made from coffee, banknotes, sweets, hearts, etc. This version of the topiary involves the use of maple leaves.

So, what is required for the topiary:

• pot;
• wooden stick for the trunk;
• a ball of foam rubber or polystyrene as a base;
• gypsum;
• dye;
• hot glue;
• elements for decor.

The procedure for creating an autumn topiary looks like this:

1. The stick must be inserted into the pot and firmly fixed with a gypsum mortar. As a result, the structure will be strong and stable.
2. Paint the pot and wand a color you like, such as gold to match the leaves.
3. We fix a ball of foam rubber on the top of the stick - this is the future crown of the tree.
4. Stick the desired number of leaves into the ball. For decoration, you can use berry clusters, ribbons, beads, as well as artificial twigs and flowers. To make the stems of the leaves more durable, they must first be soaked in a hot solution of glycerin (1 to 2) and left in this form for 10 days in a dark, cool place .
5. Next, we decorate the trunk and soil of the tree with dry moss, bark, and beads.

How to make a decorative fall wreath

From bright autumn leaves you can weave a beautiful wreath to decorate windows, doors, walls, etc. A wreath attached to the front door will delight not only you, but also your guests.

What you need for crafts:

• flexible branches of any tree;
• dried leaves of different colors (contrasting combinations look best, for example, yellow and red);
• bunches of red berries (mountain ash, viburnum, etc.);
• physalis;
• glue;
• spool of strong threads;
• decorative metallized threads;
• small figurines of birds for bouquets.

How to weave a wreath:

1. The branches will serve as a frame - make a round or oval wreath out of them.
2. For strength, fasten the structure with a thread in several places.
3. Wrap the frame tightly with gold thread, leaving small twigs free.
4. Glue the leaves to the branches.
5. Attach the berry clusters with string.
6. Glue or thread physalis.
7. Finally, attach the birds to the wreath.

A ready-made craft made of leaves in the form of a wreath can be hung anywhere in the house, it will delight you with its beauty for a long time and remind you of the most colorful season.

Beautiful autumn leaves can be used not only for simple children's crafts, but also for a full-fledged interior decoration. One of these products is a fruit vase.

To make such a vase you need:

• glue and brush;
• inflatable ball;
• petrolatum;
• scissors;
• maple leaves.

Step by step instructions:

1. Inflate the balloon to the size you need.
2. Lubricate the surface of the ball with petroleum jelly, this is necessary so that the leaves do not stick to it in the process and easily separate from it.
3. Fix the ball in a stationary state, so it will be more convenient for you to make your vase.
4. Glue maple leaves to the ball, pre-lubricating them with plenty of glue.
5. To make the vase strong enough, you will need several layers of maple leaves.
6. As soon as the last layer is completed, once again carefully coat the product with glue and leave for 3 days.
7. Pop or deflate the balloon, remove its remnants from the product.

The original interior decoration is ready.

Photo frame in autumn style

Children love to decorate the walls of their room with their own drawings and favorite photographs. Craft from leaves in the form of a frame, perfect for complementing the design of the room. Help your child decorate the frame with autumn leaves, where he will then place his favorite photo.

For crafts you need:

• thick cardboard;
• glue;
• leaves you like;
• pencil;
• scissors.

How to make a frame:

1. From cardboard, cut a square or rectangular frame of the desired size. The center of the frame, where the photo will be placed, needs to be cut a little smaller than the size of the photo.
2. To wrap the leaves around the frame, soak them in hot water first, so they become softer and won't tear or break in the process.
3. Glue the leaves to the frame.
4. Wait for the product to dry.

When the frame is ready, insert a photo into it, securing it with glue or tape.

Applications from autumn leaves

Applications are one of the simplest types of crafts made from dried leaves. Using leaves of different shapes and sizes, you can create real paintings, which will then become a decoration for your home. You can make a whole series of panels united by a common theme. These can be animals, landscapes, etc. Next, several small workshops will be presented on making applications in the form of an owl, a Firebird, a fish and a lion.

Owl

To make an application with the image of an owl, you will need:

• small leaves of brown tones (for this you can use oak, willow, birch);
• colored paper;
• a small branch of thuja;
• a sheet of cardboard;
• a bunch of rowan berries;
• any branch of a tree;
• glue.

Before starting work, the leaves and berries must be dried. Once all the materials are ready, it's time to proceed to the most important thing:

1. Cut out an owl from cardboard along the contour.
2. Birch or oak leaves will depict the ears and legs of an owl, glue them in the right places.
3. For feathers, use long, narrow willow leaves.
4. Cut out eyes and a beak from colored paper and glue them on.
5. Glue your owl onto a tree branch to serve as a craft stand.

For additional decor, you can use moss or thuja twigs. You can also use mountain ash as owl paws. The product is ready.

Firebird

For the application with the Firebird you will need:

• paper;
• leaves of linden, birch and wild rose;
• pumpkin seeds;
• thuja branches.

And here is what the process looks like:

1. A lime leaf is glued to the place where the body of the bird will be.
2. Birch leaf - head.
3. Rosehip leaves are glued individually on the tail.
4. Whole rosehip branches will serve as an additional decoration of the tail.
5. Glue birch leaves to the body, these will be the wings.
6. From pumpkin seeds, eyes are made, as well as decorations for the body and tail of the Firebird.
7. The final stage is a crest from a thuja sprig or any other suitable plant.

The firebird is ready.

a lion

Children love different animals, so it will be especially interesting for them to make one of the familiar animals.

What you need for a lion cub:

• rounded linden leaves of yellow color;
• black marker;
• ash seeds;
• horse chestnut (nuts);
• glue;
• a small pine branch;
• scissors;
• a sheet of yellow paper;
• a sheet of orange cardboard.

Having collected all the necessary material, it's time to start making crafts:

1. Draw a lion's head on yellow paper or print the image on a printer, cut it out along the contour.
2. For the mane, use linden leaves by gluing them around the head.
3. Draw the lion's nose and glue a chestnut in its place.
4. Pine needles will go to the mustache.
5. The ash seed will represent the tongue.

As soon as the craft dries, it will be completely ready.

Rybka

What kid doesn't know about the wish-granting goldfish? Making crafts with your own hands will be very entertaining for the baby.

To make a fish craft, you will need:

• dry leaves of quince and linden brown and yellow, respectively;
• glue;
• marker;
• ash seeds;
• acorns;
• paper scissors;
• sheet of blue paper.

How to do:

1. Draw the outline of the fish on blue paper and cut it out.
2. Make scales from linden leaves and glue them to the body of the fish.
3. Use brown quince leaves to decorate the tail.
4. Use acorn caps to draw the outline of the fish's head.

Everything, the real goldfish is ready.

Multi-colored leaves delight the eye every autumn, falling to the ground. This beauty quickly fades under the rain, turning the leaves into a solid brown mass. However, there is a way to preserve the beauty and brightness of autumn leaves - dry them or skeletonize them and use them to make various gizmos from children's crafts to interior decorations. This activity will appeal to both children and adults.

75 photos of leaf craft ideas

Almost any flower - from a fragile field to a luxurious garden rose, any leaf and blade of grass can become not only a part of the school herbarium, but also turn into an ikebana, a postcard for your beloved grandmother, material for decoupage, scrapbooking and a real picture that will become an excellent decor for your home . But for this you need to know how to properly dry the leaves and flowers.

There are many ways to dry plants and other natural materials to preserve their original shape and color. There is even a way to instantly prepare leaves and other raw materials for autumn crafts and herbariums. And he will help you a lot if you learned tonight that your child needs to bring this very herbarium to school tomorrow.

But sometimes you should not rush, especially if you want to create something unusual and unique from the gifts of nature. And then air or volume drying comes to the rescue, allowing you to preserve both the shape and color of beautiful delicate flowers. You just need to be patient so as not to spoil anything inadvertently.

And then real magic is born under your hands and the flowers continue to delight the eye when a blizzard sweeps with might and main outside the window.

Air drying without hanging

If there are no suitable conditions or places for hanging plants, then they can be wrapped with paper napkins (preferably rice) or other moisture-absorbing material, and then laid out in boxes or on top of cardboard.

Flowers usually dry out in 2-3 weeks.

This method is suitable for plants such as ammobium, periwinkle, heather, gypsophila, goldenrod, kermek (statice), lavender, echinopsis and the like.

Air drying in a vase with water

Some plants wither very quickly, so it is difficult to dry them in their original form. Therefore, a combined method is used for them: air drying plus water.

The tips of the stems must be cut diagonally and put the plants in a vase of water, submerging no more than 4-5 centimeters.

As the water evaporates, the plants will dry out.

After the buds have puffed up a little, remove the flowers and cut off the tips of the stems that were in the water to prevent mold.

Then dry the plants by laying them horizontally on cardboard or paper.

This method is suitable for such plants as artichoke spherical, heather, carnation (after full bloom), gypsophila, hydrangea, lavender, bulbous, yarrow, chicory and the like.

Air drying with hanging

Air drying is an indispensable method for large flowers and plants that are needed for crafts or winter bouquets.

For such drying, you need a dark (without direct sunlight), dry, cool room with excellent ventilation (pantry, attic, garage, attic).

Depending on the type and size of the plant, the drying process takes a different amount of time.

What flowers can be dried?

Using the air method, it is easy to dry ornamental herbs or spikelets of cereal plants (rye, wheat, barley, etc.), as well as medicinal or useful herbs (mint, St. John's wort, nettle, etc.).

Of the flowers - cornflower, hydrangea, decorative bows, poppy, rose, lilac (cut immediately after the lower flowers bloom), physalis.

Cereals

Harvest the ears a couple of days before flowering or after the spikelets become light straw in color.

After harvesting, collect the ears in small bunches, placing the tops of the plants at different levels.

Tie the stems tightly, but not tight, and trim the ends of the stems to align them.

Hang the bunches spikelets down on a stretched rope or wire, at least 15 centimeters from the ceiling. The gaps between the beams are 10-15 centimeters.

You can fix bunches of flowers on hooks, paper clips or clothespins.

Leave the cereals to dry completely.

Flowers

Cut flowering plants as soon as the flowers open. Remove the bottom pair of leaves, or all of the leaves if you only want the flower itself.

Tie the plants at the base of the stem, 5-10 per bunch. It is better to wrap every 2-3 stems, and at the end of the whole bouquet with a tourniquet, elastic band or twine, so that the flowers do not fall apart after drying.

But do not tighten the rope too tight and do not wind it excessively so that moisture does not accumulate in the ligation points.

Hang bunches of flowers or spikelets down on a stretched rope or wire, at least 15 centimeters from the ceiling. The gaps between the beams are 10-15 centimeters. You can fix bunches of flowers on hooks, paper clips or clothespins.

In a bunch, the leaves should be well ventilated, and the flowers should not touch each other.

Leave the flowers to dry for 15-30 days. If the petals are thick and dense, or there are no optimal conditions, then the drying time can be increased to 40 days.

When the flowers are completely dry, the petals will be hard and brittle to the touch.

General rules

Large flowers and flowering branches should be dried one at a time (hydrangea, peony, rose, lilac).

Thorns must be removed from roses.

It is better to bind different types of plants separately, because their drying time may vary.

Volumetric drying of flowers in a wrapper

Absorbent cotton

In addition to powder drying using bulk substances, absorbent cotton wool can be used. In this case, the petals also retain their shape and color well.

Place all petals, including the most central ones, with pieces of cotton wool. Hang the plant by the stem on a hook or rope.

The flower head usually dries out in 5-6 days, but the cotton wool can be removed only after the stem has completely dried.

Toilet paper

Drying flowers with toilet paper flattens the calyx and leaves marks on the petals without falling apart.

The flower is shifted with paper in the same way as with cotton wool.

Waxing fresh flowers and leaves

Fresh flowers can be covered with paraffin, including a bouquet presented for the holiday. Almost all types of flowers can be treated with paraffin.

Dip the brush in melted paraffin, then carefully and delicately work the petals and leaves.

It is better to start from the extreme and move to the center of the bud.

After the petal is completely dry, you can move on to the next one.

Dried leaves, flowers and herbs can be used to create unique paintings - both exquisitely complex and completely simple, which even small children can make. There are several techniques for making paintings, and perhaps you yourself will come up with something new.

Collect and dry beautiful plants and enjoy creativity with children, develop imagination, accuracy and a sense of beauty.

Gather leaves, flowers and herbs for future paintings, you can from spring to autumn.

dry up they are better in old heavy reference books or magazines. Thick plant stems do not dry well, so it is recommended to cut them in half lengthwise. Leave the plant in the book for 10-14 days.

Glue take it thick enough so that drops do not form.

If according to your intention colored but transparent petals should be superimposed on a dark background and at the same time retain their original color, then you first need to stick them on thin white paper , cut along the path, and then include in the composition.

So, on a fine autumn day, you got out into the park or into the forest and collected a large collection of beautiful bright leaves and plants.

Applications can be made from freshly picked leaves, and dried. If you want to preserve the leaves, two drying methods can be recommended.

The first, well-known way - inserting leaves between the pages of an old unnecessary book. It is better to lay each leaf on both sides with a paper napkin.

The second way is express drying of the leaves. using an iron. Just remember that the leaves are not sterile, so it’s best to iron them on a surface that you don’t mind throwing away later, for example, on large sheets of paper. On top of the sheet before ironing, you also need to put a sheet of newsprint or a paper napkin. And now in more detail.

Powder drying

This method of drying flowers and leaves is not quick and easy. It will require loose substances with hygroscopic properties: sifted river sand, semolina or corn grits, salt or crushed chalk.

Powder drying has its own advantage: it completely preserves the shape and lively color of plants or inflorescences.

Ignite the sand in a pan so that there is no moisture left, and let it cool. Pour 2 cm of sand into a cardboard box and place flowers on it.

Sprinkle sand gently on top until the plants are completely covered.

After two or three weeks, holes need to be made in the bottom of the box so that the sand spills out.

Shake the dried flowers lightly to remove any remaining sand.

Such flowers can be used for three-dimensional paintings or making floral arrangements.

Drying fast drying plants

There are also plants that wither faster than they have time to dry out (hydrangea, bulbous, heather, chicory). They need air drying with stems immersed in water.

Cut the lower part of the stem at an angle of 45 degrees and place it in a vessel with water to a height of 7.5 cm.

Drying plants in a hot way (express drying)

Hot drying, that is, drying with an iron, is ideal when you need to dry the leaves for the herbarium for tomorrow. Also hot drying can keep the original color of the cornflowers.

Wipe the leaves with a damp cloth or cotton pad to remove dirt and dust. It is not necessary to wet and rub too much, so as not to damage the fragile surface.

Line an ironing board with clean paper and spread the leaves on it.

If you use newspapers, be careful as the printing ink can be printed both on the leaves and on the surface of the ironing board.

Top with another sheet of paper.

Switch the iron to the minimum temperature and check that there is no water in it. If your iron does not have too high power, then you can set the temperature closer to the average, but not the maximum, because too hot an iron will ruin the leaves.

Iron the leaves a few times, then remove the paper and flip them over to the other side. Cover again with paper and iron.

Repeat the procedure until the leaves are completely dry.

Drying plants for garlands and crafts

Leaves and flowers that you want to use not for herbarium and paintings, but for creating garlands or other crafts, need to be dried without a press.

To dry, spread the plants on paper and gently straighten.

Tie the flowers in bunches and hang with the inflorescences down. The room must have good air circulation and relative dryness.

Drying plants and leaves under pressure

Drying leaves under pressure is the most famous and easiest way.

Leaves and flowers are simply shifted with sheets of paper or paper towels on both sides and placed under the press, or in books and magazines.

The paper needs to be changed every day to remove the absorbed moisture.

Flowers and leaves will be ready to use after a week.

If the workpieces have become too brittle, dip them into a solution of water and PVA glue (4 parts water 1 part glue), and then dry.

Leaves dried and processed in this way are ideal exhibits for a herbarium.

Drying plants on a wire rack

Some plants can be dried in a horizontal position on a wire rack (for example, ivy). Some are best not turned upside down (Physalis).

Drying flowers in the oven

Single large flowers whose petals are rich in liquid, such as roses or tulips, can be dried in an oven at a low temperature.

Watch the process carefully: the flowers should not turn brown.

Before starting work, cover the table with oilcloth so as not to stain it with glue. Prepare the base - a sheet of cardboard, collected or dried leaves, scissors, glue (preferably PVA), tweezers.

First you need come up with a picture of the future . Then arrange it on a separate sheet. And only then start gluing the individual parts-leaves to the base. Glue is best applied in drops around the edges. If you apply glue to the entire surface of the sheet, then when drying the application, it may warp.

The finished picture is needed put under pressure for one or two days. Don't forget to do for her frame!

Application types

Overlay application.

Try to get started by coming up with pictures that don't require any details to be cut out of the leaves, but are created by overlaying the leaves. You can come up with a lot of such pictures: butterflies, mushrooms, chickens and other birds ... The missing elements can be added with a felt-tip pen or made from other natural materials.

Having mastered simple pictures, children can begin to come up with multi-tiered images. In this technique, the leaves are glued on top of each other in layers. The application will turn out bright and cheerful if the leaves differ in color.

Silhouette application.

In this type of applique, the extra parts of the leaf are cut off to get exactly what the little artist intended.

Modular application (mosaic).

Using this technique, a picture is created by sticking a lot of identical or similar in shape and size leaves (or, for example, maple seeds). So you can make the scales of a fish, the tail of a cockerel or a firebird.

symmetrical application.

It is used to create separate images or entire paintings that have a symmetrical structure, as well as to obtain two completely identical images (for example, reflection in water). To do this, you need to select similar leaves to get an image with its “reflection” or symmetrical in itself (“Butterfly”, “Dragonfly”, “Landscape with a lake”, “Boat on the river”).

Tape application.

A kind of symmetrical application. Its difference is that it allows you to get not one or two, but many identical images - ornaments. It turns out whole "round dances" of trees, flowers, mushrooms, butterflies, etc.

Who, if not mothers, knows that our children love to remember at 21-22 pm that tomorrow they need to bring crafts made from natural materials, a bouquet of dry leaves and flowers, a herbarium and so on. And what to do? We get ready and with a flashlight we go to collect “reserves”, and then we sculpt, glue, paint all night, most often already without a child. And sometimes they give a task in the garden, it seems it’s still light, but it’s raining outside. How to collect the right material? In order to at least partially protect myself from this (it will not work completely, unfortunately), I began to collect a “collection” of natural materials, highlighting for this a small shoe box and various smaller boxes and boxes that I put into this very box from under shoes. Well, plus a variety of books help. So what can we prepare?

1. We dry various leaves. On the way home, pick up a few leaves from different trees. Colors can also be different, which come across: yellow, green, red ... The main thing is to select the most beautiful, and not strive to gain more. After all, we still have many fine days ahead of us and we will have time to collect a fairly large number of leaves. But let it be the most beautiful.

At home, we review the “booty” once again, if there are spoiled ones (accidentally, they didn’t finish watching) or you simply don’t like them, we safely send them to the trash can. We wash the rest under running water, put it on a surface covered with paper or cloth (I cover it with disposable rags from a roll), let it dry with moisture and then put it in a book, and the book can be put back on the shelf. Or you can spread it between sheets of plain paper and press it down with something heavy. And let them dry, then come in handy.

By the way, if you need to dry the leaves very urgently, then put them between two sheets of white paper and iron them several times with a hot iron.

2. "Airplanes" or "turntables" from maple. On the way home, after the maple seeds ripen, we cut off several brushes with the child. At home, carefully remove them from the branches, leaving them in pairs, sort through, remove the spoiled ones. Then we wash and dry for several days on any surface covered with paper: on the table, on the windowsill, on the floor. As soon as they dry, we pour them into a box and send them to a large box or to a cabinet with materials for crafts.

3. Chestnuts and acorns. Perhaps the most popular material for crafts. And not always they are on the trees growing near the house. Therefore, it is better to stock up on them in advance, you don’t need a lot, but a dozen or two won’t hurt. By the way, I sometimes find acorns without hats and separately - hats. I also collect this, sometimes I need hats, sometimes acorns, and sometimes whole acorns with hats.

After I have collected the acorns and chestnuts, I wash them well under running water, then dry them for several days in a cool, well-ventilated area (I usually have a small shed). After the fruits have dried, I put them in a box, always shifting them with crumpled paper (you can store them in bulk, but with paper they dry out less and “shrink”). Then I put them in a box with the rest of the natural materials.

4. Cones. The principle is the same as with acorns: I collect, wash, dry. Except for some nuances. More often I collect still closed cones, they are easier to wash. And they open up later, in the process of drying, from heat. Then I clean some of it in this form, some I bleach. Perfectly white do not turn out, of course, but brighten. I do not bleach in bleach, in any case! (For some reason, there is a lot of information on the Internet about bleaching in bleach, I tried it, the “petals” of the cone changed their structure, became soft). How I bleach: wash well, dry. Then I dip for a while in the "mole" or similar means. I pull out, wash and dry until the cones open (they close from moisture), rinse again and dry again. Then I put it in a special solution for bleaching wood (I buy it in hardware stores), periodically drying it if the bump is closed. After a few days, I take it out, wash it, dry it, rinse it again and dry it. That's all. They say that solutions containing acid also bleach well. But I haven't tried it, so I can't say.

5. Various twigs and sticks. Completely "various": both in length and thickness, even and not very. They are also necessarily present in my box with natural materials. Well washed and dried.

6. If it is possible to get it, then a bag with hay or straw. It might come in handy too.

What else is in the box: wild rose, dried flowers, reeds, some dried flowers, pumpkin seeds, nuts, sunflower seeds. And of course - interesting pebbles, including flat pebbles. She's so fun to color. And you can add anything you find interesting to the box, the larger the stock, the easier it is to make crafts!

Unfortunately, I can’t show my box yet, last year’s stocks have run out, and this year they have just begun to collect stocks.