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Mike’s grandma gathered some stunning fall leaves while we were in Montreal! We pressed them in a book, and then ran them through our laminator. If you don’t have a laminator, we’ve also had excellent success covering leaves in contact paper.
I put a few leaves in each laminating sleeve, and ran them through the machine. They turned out great! I set a sheet of white paper behind them so you could see the colors better. Aren’t they beautiful?
Mike’s grandma took these back to Nevada when she left, but we have the pictures to remember them by. And the leaves we covered in contact paper two years ago still get admired by my kids on a regular basis!
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Beautiful! Autumn colour is so special, and I love it that this format allows the leaves to be handled and enjoyed over such a long period of time!
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I love fall leaves! I really love the colors in these!
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maryanne Reply:
October 11th, 2011 at 9:58 am
Aren’t they stunning?
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One other way that we tried is putting modge podge over leaves. It makes the leaves soft, but probably not ideal for the kids who haven’t graduated from “putting everything in your mouth” school.
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maryanne Reply:
October 11th, 2011 at 9:58 am
Thanks for reminding me to try this! We are actually out of the “putting things in our mouth” stage – SO happy about that!
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Totally reminded me I wanted to do some contact paper “leaves.”
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maryanne Reply:
October 11th, 2011 at 9:32 am
Oh yeah! I’ve been meaning to make those with my kids too!
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Yes, I know contact paper will work but so jealous of your laminator right now! ( :
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maryanne Reply:
October 11th, 2011 at 9:57 am
I remember feeling the same way before we got our laminator… they do go on sale from time to time. I got mine from Amazon for $20, and it came with 50 laminating sheets (well, that was after a rebate.) Still a significant sum of money, but less than I was expecting to have to pay.
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Cheryl Reply:
October 6th, 2012 at 7:58 pm
Hi If you have a BJ’s superstore near you, I just bought one for $22.00! It works great! they have the laminating sheets for $7.00 for 50 sheets! Can’t beat that!
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maryanne Reply:
October 10th, 2012 at 6:27 pm
Thanks for the tip – that’s a great deal!
Those are beautiful!!! I wish we had fall leaves down here, but they go from green, straight to dried up and gone.
Something about the angle of the sun’s rays or something like that.
Anyway, fall is sooooo beautiful in other parts of the country! Looks like where you are, it is!
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maryanne Reply:
October 11th, 2011 at 1:43 pm
Autumn is stunning in New England – I look forward to it during the freezing winters, wet springs, and humid summers =)
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Your leaves are lovely! I saw something similar on The Artful Parent where they were used as a kind of stained glass look on a front door glass panel. Makes me (almost) want to live in a colder climate.
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maryanne Reply:
October 11th, 2011 at 1:44 pm
That would look lovely! Fall is definitely the time of year to live in a cold climate =)
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wow! Do they retain their color then or do they dry up and turn brown. Just wondering. cool idea.
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maryanne Reply:
October 11th, 2011 at 3:43 pm
We pressed them in a book before laminating them, and they retain their color perfectly. The ones we covered in contact paper two years ago are as colorful now as they were the day we covered them!
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Oh how beautiful! I’ll have to try this– thanks for the clarification on pressing the leaves. I think when my little ones wake up we’ll go on a leaf hunt. It’s a beautiful day (70s) here!
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Every year I keep saying I’m going to do this with my girls. Maybe this will be the year I follow through. Thanks for the reminder.
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We have been gathering the best fall leaves the last couple of days…this is a great idea!
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Those are pretty! Abby loves collecting leaves also, but I haven’t tried laminating them!
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This is nice. I have a leaf I gathered in Hyde Park when I was 16 and it’s still green because I wrapped it in Cling Wrap. Lol.
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These are beautiful. I’ll try the contact paper this year. Thanks for the idea!
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Here in South Texas we just don’t have the changing of leaves like this. Very beautiful!
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Great way to save autumn leaves – and yours are awesome! I pinned your post to my Autumn Leaf Unit Study Pinterest board: http://pinterest.com/debchitwood/autumn-leaf-unit-study/
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maryanne Reply:
October 14th, 2011 at 6:34 am
You have a fantastic collection of leaf activities on your pinterest board! Thanks for sharing my post!
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I wish we lived in a place where leaves turned amazing colors, but I won’t complain too much with 70ish year-round. I love this post and will keep it in mind if/when we move.
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We can see any picture, but until you actually look at it is so beautiful. Good thought and will for sure share your site. Thanks for the thought.
Visit Deena … Fall Colors
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This is a nice simple way to decorate for the Fall. thanks for sharing! Stopping by from SITS.
Visit Stacie … Chocolate Chip Banana Bread Recipe – One of my faves!
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We love saving leaves too!
Thanks for linking up to the All Year Round Autumn Carnival!
Visit Bethany … Autumn Windows
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