I did these this summer and just found them when I was cleaning this week. This is a great process to do when you find some beautiful fall flowers and color changing leaves. I do this just about every time I plant and grow a new flower, just for the memory of having grown it. It is also something fun to teach teenagers who are interested in keeping flowers from special occasions.
Materials Needed:
- Leaves or flowers of your choosing
- wax paper
- towel
- iron
Instructions:
- Find a leaf on a tree you either know or would like to identify. Collect the leaf or several leaves that most represent an average looking leaf of the tree species.
- Place the collected leaf between two layers of wax paper with plenty of room to trim and preserve the wax “seal”.
- Cover the wax paper with a towel. The towel should not be a thick bath type but preferably a thin dish towel. Some people actually use paper towels.
- Turn the iron on medium dry heat and evenly iron over the towel which separates the iron from the wax paper. This heat actually seals the leaf between the wax paper sheets.
- Trim the wax paper specimen to fit a standard weight, three-ring sheet protector and insert it with a label. Keep your collection in a three-ring notebook binder.
Tips:
- A great way to label your leaf specimen is to “copy and paste” tree information directly from an ID site on the Internet.
- Depending on the tree species, your green leaf will brown a bit. That is normal and should be considered when reviewing leaf color.
- The beauty of leaf collecting is, you don’t have to know the tree’s name. Take the leaf to a local forester for identification.
- Remember, you can also make a fine collection of fall leaf colors using this same method.