What to Do with Fall Leaves

We recently bought a new house with a yard full of beautiful oak and maple trees.  I’m looking forward to the leaves changing this fall so I can see how gorgeous our yard looks when the trees change color.  Unfortunately, I think we are going to have an overabundance of leaves all over.  I love how each leaf has a different shade of orange or red so I started looking up ways to preserve leaves and create awesome autumn decorations from them.

If you aren’t crafty, use them in your yard:

• Compost them –  Use a leaf vac, lawn mower, or chipper/shredder if you have one to cut the leaves into small pieces.  They make great compost that you can use for the garden.
•  Lasagna Gardening – Read more about lasagna gardening here
• Mulch – A three inch layer of cut-up leaves can make great mulch in flower or garden beds.  It will keep the weeds down and then decompose for a rich soil base to help the next growing season
• Mow Them! –  This is the easiest thing to do.  Don’t even pick up a rake, just mow over the leaves and leave them.  Over the winter they will break down and become fertilizer for your yard.

Make Awesome Fall Crafts and Decorations

Use this great tutorial to learn 6 ways to preserve fall leaves.  I use decoupage or the traditional wax paper method

• Glitter Leaves and Painted Leaves
• Decorate Candles – Have candles for every season
• DIY Potpourri
• Use Them for Stuffing a Scarecrow – Cool front porch decoration
• Put them in Picture Frames and Call them Art – Art!
• Leaf Print Bags or a Tablecloth – Everything can be autumn themed
• Make Beautiful Stained Glass Effects – So Pretty!
• Make a Wreath
• Make a Swag – Kinda like a wreath but better
• Fill a Window Box
• Ornamental Clay Leaves – I love these
• Leaf Garland Pennants
• Golden Leaf Garland
• Leafy Pillow Case – Makes me want to snuggle up by a fire
• Leaf Mobile
• Clay Leaf Bowls – Absolutely amazing looking
• Leaf Place Cards
• Painted Leaf Banner – Great for 4th of July or World Cup
• Metallic Leaf Plates – Add a touch of fall style to your white plates
• Painted Leaves in a Vase – Great alternative to fake flowers
• Big Leafy Bowl – These are even cooler than the other bowls!
• Autumn Centerpiece – Looks great on any table
• Falling Leaves Window Decorations – Make it look like Fall even after fall is finished
• Leafy Soap – Super easy bathroom decoration
• Nature Cookbook

Make these Great Kids Crafts

• Leaf-shape Stamp Pads
• Leaf Print T-Shirts – Kids love wearing things that they make
• Colorful Plaque or Artwork
• Shaving-Cream Painted Leaves – Kids will love all the colors (Shaving cream is fun!)
• Gold Leaf Ornaments