Three years ago, I read an interesting guest blog post on Design*Sponge by artist Kate Pruitt.  She took autumn leaves and transformed them into a beautiful bouquet of flowers.  How did she do it?  I was sure to find out.  Living on a breathtaking college campus in upstate New York at the time, I walked the campus to find fallen leaves.  It was such a fun project that I decided to make it again for you here today.  It’s the perfect time of year to be collecting leaves of all shapes, sizes, and colors — ingredients to surely make a beautiful arrangement!

Materials:

• 15 or so leaves per flower (dry and freshly fallen)
• Thin, straight sticks (one per flower)
• Washi tape

The first time that I made these flowers, I used maple leaves and followed Kate’s instructions more closely.  This season, it has been quite difficult finding rich, red leaves in Philadelphia.  I adapted my folding technique to work with these pretty yellow leaves I collected.  Above are step-by-step picture instructions on how to fold and create your own flowers.

This is one DIY project where I wished I had three hands.  It can become difficult as you add more “petals” to your flower to hold them, fold them, and then place the stick in the center of the bunch to begin taping it.  My third yellow flower completely fell out of my hand when I began taping it to the stick, so I started over.  If it becomes frustrating, take a break and go make some tea.  The end results are completely worth it!

Below is a picture of my red leaf flowers three years ago.  They kept their red color and dried beautifully.  My housemates and I enjoyed them on our dining table for about three months!

What are you making this season?  Share your fall DIY creations on Instagram with #scissorsandsage.