I took a walk in our local park this week on the most perfect fall day. Temps were low 60’s, sky was bright blue, there was a slight breeze and just the smell of autumn in the air. The trees have been turning for two weeks now but on this day, with the breeze, leaves were fluttering to the ground all around me.
I brought a bag with me to collect leaves, as one does on perfect fall days, and I collected so many that it felt like it weighed a few pounds. I immediately thought of the perfect idea for my giant bag of leaves…. a leaf wreath made with a wire hanger!
I first saw this leaf wreath idea years ago on my friend Gina’s blog, Willowday. I knew it required a ton of leaves since they are stacked, and I’m usually someone who only collects what I can hold, so I haven’t had a chance to bring home a big leaf haul until now!
How to make a leaf wreath with a wire hanger:
1. Collect your leaves and arrange them by color. I must have collected a few hundred leaves at least, but truth be told I *still* didn’t have enough. I had to cut my hanger a little shorter. So err on the side of too much!
2. Use needle nose pliers to untwist the top of the wire hanger. Use your own hands to bend out the kinks, then to bend it into a circle. To cut the wire hanger (which you will probably have to do unless you got thousands of leaves!), just bend back and forth a few times in one spot and it will break. You can do this by hand or with the pliers. (You can also use floral wire, like this vine-covered type, instead of a hanger.)
3. Start stacking and threading the leaves onto the wire hanger. It’s very easy to do, you can do a bunch at a time.
4. Thread them upside down until you get halfway, then thread them right side up.
6. When you are done threading, use the pliers to bend the end into a little loop, then hook it at the top to secure the ring.
This wreath will start to dry up pretty quickly and the colors will fade. If you want the color to last, try dipping the leaves in beeswax first!
xo, Bar
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Did you like this post? Here are some more art ideas with leaves:
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