Fall Inspiration

I recently asked you guys if you had any spare BHG DIY mags and I was lucky to get a couple sent over. Thanks, Tracy! I've started an international subscription so future issues will arrive via my mail box.

Wille asked me what I like about it because he couldn't really see past the not always so stylish articles (being my very style concious son). I have to agree, some stuff in there looks like crap, some craft projects are less than awesome and some are even to awful to mention but I like the fact that there are a great deal of handy tips on techniques and tools and some great ideas too if you skip their color choices. And of course, there's Sherry and John :).

So to get to the point here. In the current Fall issue I saw this article on dressing up your front porch for fall and I was totally inspired to do some decorating of our front door. Usually I just decorate for Halloween and Christmas and the rest of the year there are flowers in planters and that's basically it. I didn't go as far as the photo above but I did make the maple leaf wreath you see here. Here's how:

I picked fallen leaves off my lawn and stuck the stems in a solution of 1/3 glycerol and 2/3 water and left them there for a couple of days. The glycerol (available over here in pharmacies) helps preserve the color of the leaves.

 The leaves were then left to dry on our old patio table in the garage for another day or so. I made two times what you see above which was enough for one medium sized wreath.

I bought a styrofoam wreath ring at the craft store and hot glued the leaves onto it one by one. Pleeeeease be careful with the hot glue! I was but still burned myself a couple of times. A bowl with ice water next to your project to dip your fingers into is a good thing as Martha would say.

Back in 1992 I made a wreath like this for a (old ladies...) magazine and at the time I hadn't seen them around much. Since then they've appeared in all sorts of places but I still think it's an awesome fall décore item.

Ps. I'm still interested in the Spring, Summer and Fall issues of 2008 and the summer 2009 issue of the magazine if you're finished with yours and wants to sell them to me. E-mail me!