Fall Crafts with Leaves

For fun labels, trace the outline of a leaf onto cardstock and cut out. Host a wine-tasting party and use these festive labels to help guests identify their favorite.

This easy bookmark ensures you'll never lose your spot again. Simply cut a circle from a basic leaf, trim out a jack-o'-lantern face, and use spray adhesive to make it the final "O" on a handmade bookmark. Designer: Jeannie Stout, evLien Designs

Editor's Tip: Dry out the leaf in a book before crafting. Once dry, spray varnish on the leaf to preserve its color.

As ornaments or tags, these transformed leaves are sure to delight. Use spray adhesive to adhere pressed, varnished leaves to cardstock. Trim around the edges, leaving a 1/4-inch space. Punch a hole at the top and tie pretty ribbon through. Designer: Jeannie Stout, evLien Designs

A maple leaf takes flight when it turns into artwork. Trim out a butterfly head from the top point of a maple leaf. Press the leaf in a book until dry; spray the leaf with varnish to preserve its color. Mount it in a floating frame as a sentiment of the season. Designer: Jeannie Stout, evLien Designs

Make personal cards or envelopes with decorative leaves on top. Simply dry and press leaves, punch a leaf shape from the middle of one, stack on a folded card or envelope, and adhere. Designer: Jeannie Stout, evLien Designs

Create a unique piece of art from a plain vase. Using acrylic paint markers in two shades of brown, draw bare tree branches. For leaves, cut out pieces of pressed leaves and adhere to the vase with glue.

Add an air of fall to a nook in any room with leaf decals. Arrange pressed leaves in a falling pattern and attach to the wall with tape. Or try photocopying leaves and tracing them onto cardstock for a different look.

Even simple storage can be stylish for fall. Using decoupage medium, adhere pressed leaves to the surface of storage boxes. Then stack inside a bookcase for a fun falling-leaf effect.

This happy little fellow offers a no-cost way to greet guests. Trim a round pumpkin shape from a leaf and cut out jack-o'-lantern features as shown. Use spray adhesive to mount him to the top of a place card. Designer: Jeannie Stout, evLien Designs

Wicker perfectly complements the rich colors of fall foliage. Try arranging several different shapes of wicker baskets or vases on a table and accenting with a colorful branch of leaves.

Preserve the vibrant hues of fall foliage between two pieces of glass. First press leaves between the pages of a book. When completely dry, place a pressed leaf between two pieces of glass. (Have the pieces cut to the desired size by a local glass cutter or home improvement store.) Wrap colored linen book cloth tape around the edge to secure.

To dress up any bookshelf for fall, just add colorful leaves. Fill vases with dried leaves or adhere a dried fern frond to a platter with spray adhesive to create a simple platter display.

A bat cut from a leaf and a grinning jack-o'-lantern stand out on a basic frame. Dry and press the leaves, then use spray varnish to ensure the leaves keep their fall color. Designer: Jeannie Stout, evLien Designs

Stencil or attach leaves onto paper and fold into cute boxes. They make perfect gift boxes or accent items for a shelf.

For a quick seasonal update, grab a few glass jars or old florist's vases. Attach dried leaves to pieces of cardstock and curl the papers inside the jars to display. Heavy jars make fantastic bookends.

Gather pressed and varnished leaves and a plain picture frame mat to make a fall-worthy display. Lay your mat on a work surface and brush decoupage medium all around it. One at a time, press leaves into the mat, folding them over the edges. Cut any excess with a crafts knife. Designer: Jeannie Stout, evLien Designs

Create a modern piece of wall art by wrapping fall-theme paper around everyday mailing tubes. Attach the tubes together and hang from a single hanger or try staggering individual tubes on the wall with adhesive dots for a unique look.

Turn a short tree branch into a striking autumnal centerpiece. Weight a pot with stones and fill with dry florist's foam to secure the branch, then wrap the pot in a drawstring jute bag and flank with arrangements in fall-inspired colors.

Try displaying a leafy branch in a surprising way. Here an old doorknob has found new life as a fall vase.

Candles bring a warming glow to a fall table display. For a unique arrangement, use floating candles in a bowl lined with fall leaves. The soft candlelight brings out the rich fall colors of the leaves.

Garnish plain pillar candles with leaves for an elegant yet understated display. Determine the placement of leaves on each candle, then decoupage them into place. If necessary, use tacky white crafts glue to hold the stems down. Cover the candles and leaves with one or more coats of decoupage medium.

Create this naturally beautiful art piece and you'll be set for the fall season -- from Halloween to Thanksgiving. It starts with an inexpensive crafts store picture frame and some favorite fall finds. Adhere acorn caps to the frame with hot glue. For the picture, center a piece of burlap inside the frame to replace the backing. Glue a vibrant fall leaf and a petite twig to the burlap in the frame's center.

This parade of fall leaves proves that garlands aren't just for the Christmas season. The holiday classic can be adapted for any celebration, and this one is just right for autumn, Halloween, or Thanksgiving. Gather an assortment of colorful fall leaves (we used oak leaves) and use a needle to thread them onto a string, secure with knots at the ends, and tack onto the edge of a table, across a stair rail, or around a door frame.

Create a fall wreath that's as fragrant as it is beautiful by covering a damp florist's foam wreath with fresh artichoke leaves, lemon leaves, and juniper branches.

Give your table autumn style with a centerpiece of bittersweet vines, gourds, and candles atop a wooden plank. Carry the fall theme forward by tying a narrow velvet ribbon around each napkin, then slipping a clean dried leaf under the ribbon.

Accentuate a beautiful frame with some fall foliage. First, hang pressed leaves on a ribbon with S-hooks and swag across an empty frame. Then tie the ribbon to nails tacked into the frame. This easy DIY project makes a great accent piece.

Craft a striking wreath that incorporates all the colors of fall. Layer brown leaves and pinecones with vibrant mums and yarrow in shades of red and yellow. Pick up fresh finds on a nature walk, or use artificial items from a crafts store.

Surround a warm greeting in a basic picture frame. Using a computer, print "Welcome" onto a sheet of paper to fit your frame. (You also can handwrite the word or spell it out with letter stickers.) Gently adhere leaves to the paper using double-sided tape. Place the finished greeting in a frame and prop it on an entry table or hang it on the front door to greet guests.

Swap your traditional round wreath for a leafy monogram. Paint a papier-mache letter and let dry. Hot-glue dried or silk leaves to the front. Shape a piece of wire into a hanging loop, and hot-glue it to the back of the letter.

Turn an ordinary white tablecloth into a fall sensation. Center the tablecloth on your table. Just below the top edge of the table, hot-glue or pin grosgrain ribbon onto the tablecloth. From fall-color cardstock and decorative paper, trace various leaves and cut out shapes and glue them in clusters to the ribbon. Glue just the centers of the leaves so the edges curl up naturally.

Place fall-tone candles in clear votive holders and set them atop silk or real leaves in coordinating hues to add color to any table.

A simple pressed fern branch makes a seasonal art statement. Place a dry (but not brittle) fern branch between layers of newspaper, then top with several heavy books to press. Glue photocopies of pages from old books or newspapers to the backing of a picture frame. Decoupage the pressed branch to the page background and place in the picture frame, then hang your work of art.

Dress windows with a garland of fall finds. Knot clusters of fresh leaves and mini pumpkins onto a length of twine and swag along the top of a window.

These pumpkins will last from Halloween through Thanksgiving. Gather leaves from your yard and decoupage them onto pumpkins. Place the decorated pumpkins around your house to enjoy throughout the fall season.