Preserving Leaves for Crafts

" Hi! I'm Justin Hancock. We're having a great fall here in the Better Homes and Gardens test garden and I have a tip for you to preserve fall color for your garden decorating projects. You can take branches of your favorite fall leaves; like here, we have a maple, and insert them into a glycerin solution. To do it, make a solution of 2 parts water and 1 part glycerin. Glycerin is a product you should be able to find at your local craft store. We have 2 spoonfuls of water here. I'm going to add 1 teaspoon of glycerin here and mix it all up. To help your branches absorb it best, make a fresh cut at the bottom of the stem and then just drop it in. It's that simple. All you have to do is wait for a couple of weeks. If you wanna preserve for an extra pop of colors individual leaves, you can do the same thing. Just insert your leaves into the glycerin solution and let them wait. If you wanna add even more color to your leaves, throw in a couple of drops of food coloring. The red food coloring will be absorbed by the stems into the leaves giving them even more vibrant color. I'm Justin Hancock and that's your test garden tip."