crafts, decor, diy projects, fall, thanksgiving

DIY: Illuminated Leaf Vase

As I mentioned in my DIY fall window post last week, I had a feeling that wouldn’t be the last of my dried leaf crafts this season.  I just can’t help myself – the NYC fall leaves are simply gorgeous this year!  So here you have it, my next leaf-centric festive fall craft: a beautiful illuminated leaf vase.  The DIY tutorial is below. Enjoy!

1.  Allow your leaves to dry while simultaneously pressing them.  I recommend pressing them for 3-4 days for this craft, as you don’t want your leaves to be too crispy.

2. Cut a piece of clear contact paper to the size of your vase.  Make sure the height is equal to that of your vase and that the width will cover the vase without overlapping. Peel back the contact paper and put the sheet on your work surface, sticky side up.  Arrange the leaves on the sheet, placing the front side of each leaf face down. For overlapping leaves, add a tiny bit of glue to affix the overlapped leaves together.

3. Line up the contact paper sheet to the vase and slowly adhere, applying pressure as the contact paper meets the glass vase.  Once you’ve wrapped the entire piece over the vase, smooth out any bubbles that may have surfaced.

Optional: I decided I wanted to take off the extra contact paper, so I used an x-acto knife to cut off any unnecessary contact paper.  If you choose to do this, make sure to not cut too close to the leaves, so that there is enough adhesive to keep them secured to the glass. 

4. Fill your vase with water, add a floating candle, and light. Beautiful, right?!

  1. Joy

    November 7, 2012 at 11:35 am

    Great project, gonna have to try that one!

    1. alanajonesmann

      November 7, 2012 at 3:50 pm

      that makes me happy to hear! enjoy!!

  2. Raven Corwin, aka Meggie

    November 7, 2012 at 3:39 pm

    Very pretty! I love autumn leaves, too.

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