Materials
■ Heavy bamboo skewers
■ Mini pumpkins and gourds
■ Metal candlestick inserts (below)
■ Craft knife
■ Taper candles
Step-by-Step
1. For each stacked pumpkin candleholder, cut a bamboo skewer to the height of the
bottom pumpkin plus half the height of the top pumpkin. From the bottom, slide the skewer through the center of the stacked pumpkins. If you aren’t stacking, skip this step.
2. Trace the base of each candle insert on the top of a gourd and use a craft knife to cut and remove the flesh. Remove enough flesh so the insert fits snugly. Place the insert and candle in the hole.
■ Small bowls and craft sticks for mixing dye
■ Food coloring in desired fall colors
■ Basket-style coffee filters
■ Plates for dyeing
■ Spray bottle filled with water
■ Eyedropper
■ Wire cooling rack
■ Baking sheet
■ Kraft paper
■ Iron
■ Leaf templates (see smart code, opposite) or collected leaves
■ Wire clippers
■ Brown fabric florists wire
■ Craft glue
■ Waxed paper
■ Decoupage medium
■ Paintbrush
■ Collected branches
1. In a small bowl for each color add ¼ cup water and 20–30 drops food coloring to create desired colors.
2. Place 10–12 flattened coffee filters on a plate and spritz with water until damp.
3. Using an eyedropper, drip colors onto the filters, below, adding a few drops at a time then spraying with water so the colors bleed. Repeat until the filters are completely dyed. Flip the coffee filters over and repeat.
4. Separate the filters and let them dry on a wire cooling rack with a baking sheet underneath to catch drips.
5. Once dry, place filters between kraft paper and gently run a warm iron over the paper to flatten the filters.
6. Trace a leaf template or collected leaf on two layers of the filters, below (you’ll need two identical leaf shapes per finished leaf), and cut out.
7. Cut a length of florists wire and dip into craft glue. Place wire between the two leaves and press together gently for a stem. Once dry, place stemmed leaf on a piece of waxed paper; paint the leaf with decoupage medium and let dry. Repeat Steps 2–7 to make desired number of leaves.
8. Attach wire stems and leaves to collected branches, wrapping the wires around branches to secure. Arrange branches in a vase.
■ Collected real leaves or faux leaves
■ Heavy book or leaf press
■ 1 lb. bag beeswax pellets
■ Small 2-qt. slow cooker that you’ll use only for crafting (check thrift stores for a low-cost one)
■ Tweezers or tongs
■ Parchment paper
Rings of Fire Suncatchers
■ Black spray paint
■ Metal craft hoops
■ Thin cording
1. Pat collected leaves dry if necessary.
2. To press leaves, cut two pieces waxed paper to the size of your book or leaf press. Place leaves between the sheets of waxed paper, then place in the middle of a heavy book or in a leaf press. Leave for a few days or weeks until the leaves are completely dry.
3. Heat beeswax pellets on low in slow cooker, stirring occasionally until melted. Using tweezers, drop leaves, one or two at a time, into beeswax, above, completely covering both sides with wax. Remove each leaf from the pot with tweezers and let excess wax drip off. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper to dry.
Suncatchers
1. In a ventilated area, spray-paint metal hoops and let dry.
2. Create bundles of two or three waxed leaves to hang in the suncatchers. (We layered smaller leaves on top of larger ones.)
3. Tie thin cording around stems of each bundle, then tie cording to a metal hoop so leaves hang in center, opposite below. Use another length of cording to hang the hoops.
■ Leaf template (see smart code, below, far right)
■ Colored cardstock
■ Marker
■ ¼" hole punch
■ Cording
■ Small pumpkin
■ Waxed leaf
1. For each place card, trace leaf template on cardstock; cut out. With a marker, add guest’s initial or name to paper leaf.
2. Punch a hole in the leaf and thread cording through. Tie a leaf stem (see “Everlasting Leaves,” Step 7) behind the cardstock leaf, then tie cord to the stem of a small pumpkin.
■ White printer paper
■ Collected assorted fall leaves
■ Black colored pencil
■ Ink pads in assorted fall colors
■ 1 lb. beeswax pellets
■ Leather cording
■ Hot-glue gun
1. Place a piece of printer paper on top of two or three leaves. Gently rub one side of the pencil tip on paper over each leaf outline and details to create leaf shape.
2. Use the ink pads to stamp color onto the leaf shapes on the paper.
3. Lay down kraft paper to protect surface, below left. Place paper with leaf images in a folded piece of parchment paper. Open parchment paper and evenly sprinkle about a handful of beeswax pellets over the leaves. Fold parchment paper back over the leaves.
4. On low setting, iron over the parchment paper, pressing gently to melt the wax. Once wax is melted, open parchment and remove leaf paper to let cool.
5. Cut out the leaf shapes. Punch a hole in the bottom of the leaves and thread leather cording through bundles of two or three leaves. Cut cording long enough to tie around napkins.
■ Leaf template (see smart code, below right) or collected leaves
■ ½ yd. Cotton canvas fabric
■ Paper plate
■ Gloves
■ Kids craft paint in assorted colors
■ Sponge pouncer
■ Strong fabric glue
■ Acorns
■ Rectangular wire wreath form (or a 16" round frame shaped into a rectangle)
■ Brown cotton macramé yarn
1. Using templates or real leaves, trace about 50–60 leaves on canvas; cut out.
2. Place a canvas leaf on a plate; spray with water until saturated. Wearing gloves, add a few dabs of paint to the leaf with the pouncer and spray with water to blend colors. Repeat until leaf is completely painted.
3. Slightly stretch and bend the leaf to create a frayed edge and organic shape (this will make the leaves look more realistic). Let dry on waxed paper. Repeat Steps 2 and 3 to make remaining leaves.
4. Using wire clippers, cut a 6"–8" piece of florists wire for each leaf and attach to back sides with strong fabric glue; let dry.
5. Meanwhile, remove acorn cupules (hat-shape tops), paint bases, and reattach cupules with hot glue. Hot-glue a 3"–4" piece of wire to each acorn top, below.
6. Tightly wrap cotton yarn around wire wreath frame to cover it; do not cut yarn. To assemble the wreath, wrap a leaf wire stem around the wreath form and tightly wrap yarn over the wire stems to hide them. Continue layering leaves and wrapping yarn without cutting it until all the leaves have been placed around the form.
7. Cut a short yarn tail and hot-glue to the back of the wreath form to secure. Attach acorns around the wreath, wrapping wires around the wreath form.
BY: ELLA FIELD; PHOTOS: (FINISHED CANDELABRA, SUNCATCHERS, PLACE MATS, WREATH) KELSEY HANSEN, (HOW-TOS) BRIE GOLDMAN & CARSON DOWNING; CRAFTS BY: KIM HUTCHISON