Pressing Fall Foliage

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Pressing Fall Foliage

Postby rebapuck » Thu Dec 03, 2009 11:39 am

I picked some beautiful fall leaves from my Crepe Myrtle this year. Put them in a paperback to press and dry. Only took a couple of days, but they had lost those vibrant yellow and red colours.

Anyone have a method of keeping those colours?
Last edited by rebapuck on Thu Dec 03, 2009 12:50 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Postby pauld3 » Thu Dec 03, 2009 11:44 am

I haven't done this in years, but I USED to get silicone crystals and put the leaves, flowers, in an airtight bag and gently pour the crystals all over the foliage. Let it sit in a dark place for a while (maybe a month) and then take them out. Seems like it was the best for preserving with out loosing too much color. Another thing, but it's not as easy is to put them in a mold and pour epoxy over them. Makes like a paper weight thingy. But that ususally keeps the colors real nicely and it's definately FOR EVER!!! :lol: Of course you can always IRON it between two pieces of wax paper!!! (be sure to put a plain piece of paper over the wax paper so you don't ruin your iron) That works too!!!

Post a pic! I love fall stuff!!!

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Postby caseydog » Thu Dec 03, 2009 12:37 pm

We used to fold them into wax paper and then put them in books when I was a kid.

I googled and found this...

http://gardening.about.com/od/craftsand ... Leaves.htm

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Postby rebapuck » Thu Dec 03, 2009 12:59 pm

Thanks caseydog. I read the article. Seems glycerin is my best bet for longevity. But, I wanted to do some artwork and no dried leaves last very long. Maybe I should paint my own leaves.
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Postby S. Heisley » Thu Dec 03, 2009 10:02 pm

The leaves in these pictures were ironed between waxed paper that was sandwiched between bath towels. This was done over a year ago. You will see that one of the leaves was removed from its wax paper covering. It was removed from the wax paper over a year ago. The colors are only slightly off and that happened from the heat of the iron. Since then, they have lost no coloring. What I do is take pictures of the leaves before I preserve them so that I have a pretty good idea what the colors should be. ...Hope this helps.

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It's best to practice with some leaves and keep the iron just hot enough to melt the wax paper without cooking the leaf. I use a steam iron with steam in it because it helps the heat penetrate through the towel and seems to help moderate the temperature. It's kind of like steaming vegetables...As long as they aren't overdone, they still retain most of their color, too!
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Postby rebapuck » Fri Dec 04, 2009 3:03 pm

That gives me the idea of using my printer to capture those colors. Maynot be as vibrant, but will last forever.

Any leaf, pressed or ironed is going to eventually go to dust. And I want these leaves for an art peice.
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Postby S. Heisley » Fri Dec 04, 2009 9:24 pm

That's a good idea! :thumbsup: When I ironed those, above, I didn't have a flat-style printer. Now, I do!

However, to keep from getting sap on your printer glass or top flaps, I think I'd slap some Saran-type plastic wrap on it first. :thinking:
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Postby rebapuck » Sat Dec 05, 2009 2:10 pm

I just picked up some of the last crepe myrtle leaves. Not the best of the best colour. But, I put them on my printer and was pleased with the results. Compared to the real leaf, it was pretty good. Then I tried a sheet of photo paper and the colour was even better.

Now I just have to wait til next fall to get a good collection of leaves. Thanks for all the suggestions.
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Postby southpennrailroad » Sun Jan 10, 2010 6:47 am

I collect Poison Ivy and Oak but it got to be too itchy a hobby so i quit.
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