"....Your children shall be like olive plants all around your table." Psalm 128:3

Thursday, October 18, 2012

Leaf Waxing Tutorial

We tried something different this week for Nature study:  trying to preserve some of the beautiful fall colors that we are surrounded by this time of year. And in searching the internet for ideas, I came across the idea of leaf waxing. We decided to give it a try.

It turns out that the we had a blast doing it...the children kept telling me how much fun it was.  It wasn't just the actual process of waxing the leaves that they enjoyed; they also loved collecting and identifying the leaves.

The supplies are wax and leaves. Simple enough, right?
The first thing  to do is collect some leaves. (Make sure they're clean and dry.)


Next, melt the wax in a double-boiler. (I used tea lights and lined the smaller bowl with foil for easy clean-up.)

After the wax is completely melted, dip the leaves into it , holding the leaves by the stems, letting the excess wax drip into to the bowl.  (Be careful with your littles...the wax is very hot.)

We waxed some wild rose hips, too..


 After dipping the leaves, lay them on foil or wax paper to harden.

When the wax has hardened, use the leaves to decorate for fall.
We put them on a grapevine wreath..

And hung them from the ceiling fan and in front of the windows..


and on the lights...





"Thou comest, Autumn, heralded by the rain,
With banners, by great gales incessant fanned,
Brighter than brightest silks of Samarcand,
And stately oxen harnessed to thy wain!
Thou standest, like imperial Charlemagne,
Upon thy bridge of gold; thy royal hand
Outstretched with benedictions o'er the land,
Blessing the farms through all thy vast domain!
Thy shield is the red harvest moon, suspended
So long beneath the heaven's o'er-hanging eaves;
Thy steps are by the farmer's prayers attended;
Like flames upon an altar shine the sheaves;
And, following thee, in thy ovation splendid,
Thine almoner, the wind, scatters the golden leaves!"
~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow


Happy fall, y'all!  :)

16 comments:

  1. What a fun nature project. Thanks for sharing this!

    ReplyDelete
  2. This is a wonderful idea and looks so simple. Never heard of waxing leaves so thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You're welcome, Charlene. And thanks for stopping by. :)

      Delete
  3. Hi Lisa~
    I see you've already been given the Liebster Blog Award, but I nominated you again for it over at my blog. I enjoy your blog and love reading it. You can see about this nomination here....
    http://homestead4him.blogspot.com/2012/10/liebster-blog-award.html
    Have a great day!
    Jess

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for the nomination, Jess. I feel doubly-honored. :)
      Hope you have a lovely week-end!

      Delete
  4. What a great idea! I will definitely be trying this craft. I especially like the leaves in the wreath!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks so much for stopping and taking time to leave a comment, Shari. :)
      Many blessings to you.

      Delete
  5. We did this this week too :o). We had so much fun - the girls loved it! Wish I had read your tip on lining the bowl with foil first though! It took some scrubbing to get all our wax cleaned up ;o)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Shirley,
      Wow - it must be true that great minds think alike. ;)
      Hope you're week-end is wonderful, my friend.

      Delete
  6. Oh, I like how your leaves turned out. When the girls were young, we always used the wax paper & iron method, but they never looked quite that nice. I just love collecting leaves in the fall, I wonder if it's too late to find some yet in town - most of the trees are bare here.

    Have a great weekend. ♥

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hope you find some fall color, my friend. :) And may you have a blessings-filled week-end!

      Delete
  7. Very pretty! And it does look like fun.

    ReplyDelete
  8. So glad you stopped by, Jen. :)

    ReplyDelete
  9. Reading your post swept away the cobwebs of my memory. My eldest daughter - the one who still likes getting her hands into things - decided one autumn day to dip red swamp maple leaves in wax - as you have done. She must have read it in a book (this was before internet browsing). I was impressed at how pretty the leaves are this way. I'll have to tell her about your post. It is her turn to be a homeschool mom.
    Karen A.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Karen,
      This has become one my children's favorite's fall crafts. We actually did it twice. The 2nd time the colors were more brilliant.
      I am reading your book, "The Charlotte Mason Companion" and I love it. I am jotting down your pearls of wisdom so that when the day comes for me to take it back to the library, I'll have my own copy. Thank you for the inspiration.
      Blessings to you!

      Delete

Thanks so much for stopping by. I love to hear from my readers, and your thoughts are welcome. And I try my best to respond to each and every comment. :)