Pressed Leaves Art Frames

I can’t resist the beautiful shapes and colors of mother nature’s foliage, especially early summer. In the Midwest, periodic rains keep everything growing and fresh. While working in the garden or on a walk, I love picking a few of the prettiest ones and pressing them to use in my crafty projects.

My “high-tech” way to press leaves is in old phone books I’ve kept for this purpose. If you happen to still have one, they are great to use because the paper is light and absorbent, and of course phone books are big and heavy. But you can really use any stack of books with sheets of newspaper or cardboard to protect the book pages from the leaves’ moisture and color.

For these framed leaves art, I combined fabric and handmade paper for the background, and arranges the leaves on top. I framed them in inexpensive frames in larger sizes (10 x 13 inches) for hanging on the wall, or smaller sizes (5 x 7 inches) for tabletop displays.

To adhere the leaves, use a little dab of craft glue in a few spots. It is only needed to keep the leaves from falling in the frame, and the glass protects the leaves from any other damage.

Anything that catches your eye or has special significance can be put into frames. This frame displays shells collected on a beach vacation. And leaves from the fall highlight the radiant reds, oranges and yellows of fall color.

Have fun crafting your own pressed leaves frames, and look for other pressed leaves project posts to come. Enjoy!