Leaf Runner

First, a big thank you to everyone who voted in round one - and I know that many of you diligently voted each and every day, which was a lot to ask from you. It was a lengthy run, but we're picking up the pace now and each week will bring a new project.

Our second project was a home decor item that had to be fashioned from real or fake fall leaves. This was a difficult round for me. Having spent most of my life in cities without visible signs of fall, I have no real connection to fall leaves (which must be why I never pitch stories to magazines for their November issue) and it was hard to think of something that hasn't already been done a thousand times!

At any rate, I created a runner embellished with  preserved fall leaves that I purchased online from Save On Crafts (a great resource for natural products). The nice thing about preserved leaves is that they're real, but the preservation technique allows them to retain their color and stay more flexible, instead of drying out and eventually fading. I found them very easy to work with. 

Here's how I made this project:

1. For the runner itself, I used iron-on tape to hem the edges of a length of muslin. Over that, I layered a strip of burlap (I just purchased the length I needed and kept the burlap doubled - as it was on the bolt). 

2. I glued the leaves onto the edges of the burlap with Fabri-Tac. I applied glue only to the middle vein of each leaf and I alternated colors and overlapped the leaves slightly.

3. When all the leaves were attached, I glued acorns along the length of the tabletop, spacing them out.  (I didn't glue acorns to the edges of the runner that extended over the table. I think the weight would have been too much.)  

When the holidays are over, the runner can be stored in a box.  The flexibility of the preserved leaves allows for gentle folding and it should retain its color for years to come.

And that's it.  Now, head on over and check out the competition. Don't forget to vote for your favorite of the four! As before, you can vote once a day, through Sunday, October 17th. Next week we move on to pumpkins. Vote here.

Comments

[Molly Stevens]

This is a really awesome use of the fall leaves and definitely gets me into the fall spirit. There really is nothing like the crisp air, smell of wood stoves and all of the leaf removal going on around the neighborhood. I'll definitely have to snag some leaves to work on one of these!

[long island payroll]

Decorate your house for Christmas should always include a Christmas tree. After decorating the tree with ornaments and home-strung popcorn, take over the other branches, measures in the home.

[MissDDT]

Very elegant! Linking as an Innovative Gift :D

[geek+nerd]

Your runner is so pretty!

[Leaf art]

Im very big fan of your first project. Very well done and next is gonna attian top vote list.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FpV5bFP657I I love the arrangement along with the table. Fantastic idea and i appreciate your work.

[Betty aka ZacksNana]

Awesome Girl! I voted! I really like two of the other projects too. But that purple wreath? What's up with that???

[rachel]

that is very pretty, it looks so nice along the table. and you used real leaves! voted for you :)