ACOT Message Board

I know this question has probably been asked here before but I couldn't find in when I searched - is there a safe way to preserve fall leaves for your scrapbook? And if this isn't safe, can someone tell me how to preserve a fall leaf?

I have put leaves in my scrapbook. I sprayed them with floral preservative like they use for dried flowers and then I made sure they weren't in contact with any of my photos. Not sure they are totally safe, but I think they are pretty and I don't think they are going to hurt, since they aren't touching my photos.


You could always iron them between sheets of waxed paper and trim them to sort of enclose them, too.

Was also wondering about the use of dried fall leaves the other day. Will be watching for more of your answers.

What about a cellophane pocket of sorts?

AmyTeets wrote:What about a cellophane pocket of sorts?

Good idea! They make those 12x12 divided page protectors, maybe you could put the leaves in one of the pockets & then it wouldn't be touching anything else if it did ruin anything years from now.

Can you laminate them?

AnnOminous wrote:Can you laminate them?

That is a very interesting idea! I wonder if it would work.

I laminated some a friend send me a few years back but they still go moldy. I'd suggest scanning them and printing them on to vellum.

JulesinParadise wrote:I laminated some a friend send me a few years back but they still go moldy. I'd suggest scanning them and printing them on to vellum.

I bet they're really pretty that way.

Vellum is our friend. and I love to Glim on one side of the vellum and lightly outline with a fine tipped Krylon pen.

leaves are very acidic I would be careful using them near photos unless they were incapsulated so how. What about a decoupage sort of substance?

In 2007, I created 1 Fall layout using real leaves. I coated it with mod podge and it stayed, didn't get brittle and is still in my scrapbook and hasn't discolored anything yet. Good luck!

What about using a leaf press to completely dry them out, and then utilizing some kind of mod podge? Leaf presses completely dry out the leaf, and make it completely flat so there would be no mold issues at all.....

Lots of great suggestions! Can't wait to see your completed LO!

lot's of great ideas. Let us know what you do and how it works.

Wow - these are all really great suggestions. I always threw my leaves out (I have to drive 9 hours to GA to get some!). I am interested to see what you do with them on your LO. Guess I need a road trip to go and collect some!

Hi gals - I saw this posted Friday and had a crazy weekend in addition to being sick. Now I am at work, and still sick, but it's just me in the office so no one is getting my germs. I did check on some leaves before leaving home today - that I had stored away after treating last fall.
First, i found this link you may find helpful:

http://www.treesforyou.org/Value/Misc/preserv.htm

Note that what I did with the prettiest leaves from last fall, was to use my finger and completely wipe a coat of pure glycerin (no water added as the article suggests) on both sides of each leaf. I allowed them to dry complete on layered paper towels for a couple of weeks - with a 3 heavy books on top. They all dried flat and pretty much held their pretty color. I then stored them in a sandwich bag in a file drawer.
I just pulled that out - all the leaves are pretty - no mold exists. I chose the least interesting leaf as a guinea pig and bent its edges - the leave does not crumple into bits in pieces. If I forced it - it would tear, but these leaves are quite flexible and quite preserved. I am making a fall mini album of Abby collecting leaves - and fully plan to incorporate some on the cover. I hesitate to do it inside in contact with photos as of course these leaves are not acid free.

Of course at this point I could probably iron a leaf between 2 sheets of wax paper and cut around the final, but I am kind of lazy. I will do that if my front cover collage falls a part years down the road. My project is in progress - look forward to sharing when done.
HTH!