How to preserve autumn leaves as keepsakes or for your DIY projects

Autumn leaves are among nature’s most beautiful keepsakes. We get so much enjoyment from them. Watching them change colors, seeing their splendor in long expanses of trees, and trying to catch them as they flutter to the ground. After you’ve caught a few favorites you can preserve them using a very simple method. You may even have learned how to do this back in elementary school. If so, enjoy the trip down memory lane!

1. Set up the ironing board.  Make sure to protect the board with an old sheet or kitchen towel., Using an old iron, turn the iron to low heat. Don’t use steam or mist for any part of this process.
2. Lay a paper towel on the ironing board. Place the leaves on the paper towel and cover them with another paper towel.
3. Remove the moisture from the leaves. While moving the iron continuously, iron over the top paper towel. Use two new paper towels and turn the leaves over. Iron again.
4. Discard paper towels, and place a piece of wax paper on the ironing board. Ensure the waxed side of the paper faces the leaves. Set the leaves on the wax paper and cover with a second sheet.
5. Iron over the surface of the wax paper. Be sure to apply steady, even pressure.
6. Lift and remove the top piece of wax paper, and then peel and remove the rest of the wax paper from both sides of the leaf. The leaf is now protected by a wax coating
7. If you want to frame or archive the leaf, you can also opt to leave it pressed between inside the wax paper.