How to Decoupage with Autumn Leaves

by Sarah - Craft Invaders

Did you know you can decoupage with beautiful autumn leaves from your garden? This simple tutorial shows you how. This is the perfect fall craft!

 

Did you know you can decoupage with beautiful autumn leaves from your garden? This simple tutorial shows you how. This is the perfect fall craft!

 

We have a beautiful Virginia Creeper that grows up the side of the house, and at this time of year it’s leaves turn Crimson. Although lovely, it really is the most rampant of plants, and every couple of years Hubby asserts his authority over it. This weekend was the fateful weekend when he pulled it all came off.

 

 

Did you know you can decoupage with beautiful autumn leaves from your garden? This simple tutorial shows you how. This is the perfect fall craft!

 

The kids and I collected some of the smaller leaves up (we like to be helpful!) and decided we would try and decoupage with them. On close inspection, the leaves don’t lie flat, but have a bit of a curl to them. We stuck them in the telephone directory, under a pile of books for a few hours to try and flatten them out – much in the same way as we did in Using Pressed Leaves to Decorate Candles. This time however, we wanted our leaves to still be fresh, not dried, so we just left them overnight, which did the job nicely.

Traditional decoupage is the art of decorating with cut out pieces of paper. The finished artwork is then covered with many layers of varnish, giving a beautiful glossy effect. There are many different decoupage paper and glue products on the market, but for our crafting adventures we have always had great results with scraps of paper we already have around the house, and plain old pva glue.

 

Did you know you can decoupage with beautiful autumn leaves from your garden? This simple tutorial shows you how. This is the perfect fall craft!

 

 

How to Decoupage with Autumn Leaves

We decoupaged onto a Kraft notepad. Before we started, we painted a layer of slightly watered-down white glue to the blank cover and let it dry.


Did you know you can decoupage with beautiful autumn leaves from your garden? This simple tutorial shows you how. This is the perfect fall craft!

 

Working a patch at a time, we applied a generous layer of the slightly thinned glue, applied our leaf, and immediately coated the top surface again with glue. We continued working like this until we had covered the whole cover of the notepad.

We then put it to one side to dry. Once the glue was completely dry we painted over another layer of glue. Our finished notepad has had two extra coats of glue on it, and the surface feels nice and robust. The finish on the leaves almost has a leathery look about it, and we are hopeful that the glue will do its job in preserving their integrity and colour.

 

 

 

We love how our leaf decoupage turned out. For more fab crafts using basic white glue check out our fabric covered flowerpots, our decoupaged Easter eggs and our homemade seed paper.

 

If you have enjoyed this tutorial, please share so others can enjoy it too x


Did you know you can decoupage with beautiful autumn leaves from your garden? This simple tutorial shows you how. This is the perfect fall craft!

 

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49 comments

Shelbee on the Edge September 26, 2023 - 2:43 pm

Oh, I love this! The autumn leaves are starting to fall now and the colors are so gorgeous that I was wondering how I could preserve their beauty with a découpage project. I love how this book cover turned out!

Shelbee

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Valerie September 15, 2019 - 3:30 pm

I love this, I did a similar project with Hydrangea flowers in a frame. Decoupage is so much fun.

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Sarah - Craft Invaders September 15, 2019 - 8:15 pm

That sounds so pretty Valerie, I don’t have any hydrangeas in my garden, but a neighbour of mine does …

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kathy burke January 11, 2017 - 1:34 am

Did you varnish over the glue , love this idea.

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Sarah - Craft Invaders January 11, 2017 - 8:18 am

Hi Kathy, no we didn’t we used covered it with a couple of layers of the PVA glue, but you certainly could – would love to hear how you get on if you try it :)

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Rose October 19, 2016 - 7:49 pm

How have the leaves held up so far? I would like to make this and then some. I have to walk a little further to gather my leaves, lol.

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Sarah - Craft Invaders October 23, 2016 - 11:12 am

They last really well Rose, we made these last year and the notebooks are still perfect – maybe slightly darker in colour, but no deterioration, and the leaves haven’t lifted at all!

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Linda at Mixed Kreations August 30, 2016 - 8:54 pm

Great idea! Your notepad turned out very pretty, I like how the leaves are different shades of reds, and greens. I love the crafty ideas using leaves, or anything of nature.

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Sarah - Craft Invaders August 31, 2016 - 12:02 pm

We love the natural colours and textures too Linda, and it’s lovely to bring nature into the house :)

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Michelle August 30, 2016 - 4:51 pm

Such a amazing colours Sarah, I love how it turned out

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Sarah - Craft Invaders August 31, 2016 - 12:01 pm

We love the colours too, it almost has a leather look with the glue on top :)

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Trista, Domesticated Momster October 22, 2015 - 3:46 am

It came out beautifully and what a great craft idea! We have so many leaves around here right now and I have been wanting to get pictures of my kids playing in them before they are gone. Thank you for sharing with #momsterslink. ⭐️Trista

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Sarah October 22, 2015 - 7:14 pm

Thank you, we really enjoyed this project, and are so pleased with the results :)

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Coombe Mill October 18, 2015 - 9:32 pm

Such a clever result, I really want to try this now and great to know that ordinary PVA glue will work. The leaves falling on the farm are so pretty at the moment it sounds like a perfect time to give it a go. Thank you for sharing a great idea on #CountryKids and #Trash2Treasure.

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Sarah October 18, 2015 - 10:20 pm

We try and use PVA for everything if we can, as we feel it makes the crafts much more accessible to everyone, rather than having to buy lots of products just for a simple make. I actually buy PVA from the builders merchants as it works out so much cheaper from them (and paint brushes!) Thanks for having us on #CountryKids and #Trash2Treasure

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Mudpie Fridays October 18, 2015 - 8:52 pm

This is such a fab idea, I love to decopatch but would never have thought to use leaves! The cover is amazing and has come out really well, will be giving this a go #momsterslink x

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Sarah October 18, 2015 - 10:29 pm

We are really pleased with how this worked, think it gives a lovely effect. Thanks for visiting and taking the time to comment :)

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Katie (Growing Up KaterTot) October 16, 2015 - 5:39 pm

I love decoupaging because it’s so versatile! This project turned out looking fantastic! Great tutorial- easy to follow with great photos. :) #momsterslink

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Sarah October 17, 2015 - 2:42 pm

Thanks for your kind comments. It is a really easy project to do, the kids had a lot of fun with it :)

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Jessica October 16, 2015 - 11:04 am

LOVE THIS!! Natural art is so pretty! Thanks for sharing!

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Sarah October 17, 2015 - 2:44 pm

Thanks for visiting us :) We love crafting with nature. We have a dog, so are out every day in all weathers, and are constantly picking up bits and pieces that catch our eye.

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Jen October 15, 2015 - 11:54 pm

What a fantastic idea!I love these types of projects. I am excited that my son is now at the age to start some of these arts and crafts. Thanks for sharing. #momsterslink

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Sarah October 16, 2015 - 8:35 am

It’s so lovely when they get to the age where you can craft with them. It’s such a nice way to spend time with the kids and relax. It always amazes me how imaginative kids are – any project with their hands seems to spark it!

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Michelle October 15, 2015 - 10:34 pm

that is such a cool idea! I had seen people press leaves between pages before and put them into picture frames or on a poster board but to put it on the front of a book is fascinating. I love Autumn leaves and this gives me a cool activity to do with my 8 year old. Visiting from #momsterlink

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Sarah October 16, 2015 - 8:43 am

My kids are almost 8 and 10, so all the projects on our blog are perfect for that age range. We are currently working on a few ideas to combine craft and technology which we hope to share with you all soon :)

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Tracey Abrahams October 15, 2015 - 8:58 pm

That is a fantastic craft idea, perfect for the half term holidays. I am going to share this on fb. #momsterlink

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Sarah October 15, 2015 - 9:23 pm

Thank you so much Tracey for sharing. It is a lovely craft project for this time of year. Our kids start half term tomorrow so I am busy thinking up ideas to keep them entertained, rather than their preferred default screen setting :)

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Let kids be kids October 12, 2015 - 12:27 pm

That is so beautiful! Love the colours. We love leaf crafts in autumn. #CountryKids

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Sarah October 13, 2015 - 8:18 am

It is great to be able to use some of the lovely leaves in crafts at this time of year. Thanks for popping by x

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Jenni October 11, 2015 - 1:37 pm

Oh this is beautiful! What a lovely idea… Would be great for a nature journal!
#CountryKids

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Sarah October 11, 2015 - 1:42 pm

That’s a lovely idea, we have a nature shelf, but not journals – we should start keeping them :) Thanks for popping by x

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Merlinda Little (@pixiedusk) October 11, 2015 - 9:12 am

Their colors just give life to any item they cling on too even the notebook! Lovely craft work =) #pocolo

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Sarah October 11, 2015 - 1:45 pm

Autumn is such a beautiful time of year isn’t it? Lovely to be able to preserve a tiny piece of it :)

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Kriss MacDonald October 10, 2015 - 8:02 pm

Great nature activity with kids! I keep meaning to do some decoupage with my two as I watched and helped my mother as a child with all her decoupage projects.

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Sarah October 11, 2015 - 1:47 pm

It’s such a beautiful craft. Lovely to have memories of your mother doing it when you were a child, much of my inspiration now comes from things I saw when I was little :)

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Verily Victoria Vocalises October 10, 2015 - 3:45 pm

This is utterly beautiful – I love the effect. And the leaves on the outside of your house look stunning too. Thank you for linking to #PoCoLo x

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Sarah October 10, 2015 - 6:39 pm

Sadly most of the leaves have now gone, but they soon recover. Am really pleased with the effect and will keep trying with other types – think a traditional green Ivy would look lovely too. Thanks for having us on PoCoLo x

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Mama Herself October 10, 2015 - 3:08 pm

What a good idea! Lovely way to actually keep a bit of autumn going (I love autumn). I would totally be trying to figure out what to cover with leaves, if it hadn’t already started snowing here.

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Sarah October 10, 2015 - 6:37 pm

Wow the snow word made me peep at your blog, and I see you are Russia. That must be a fascinating place to live. Will look forward to following your adventures :)

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Sara | mumturnedmom October 9, 2015 - 11:27 pm

Love this, we have so many beautiful leaves at the moment, this is a lovely idea. #countrykids

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Sarah October 10, 2015 - 9:17 am

It’s great to be able to preserve some of the beautiful colours, its such a lovely time of year :)

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Silly Mummy October 9, 2015 - 11:18 pm

These look lovely – great idea! #PoCoLo

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Sarah October 10, 2015 - 9:17 am

We’re really pleased with how this project worked, and it was quick and easy to do x

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Baby Isabella October 9, 2015 - 1:17 pm

It looks stunning on the side of your house! Like a massive leaf rainbow! I bet its deadly to the brickwork though. Love what you’ve done here! :) Popping over from #PoCoLo x

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Sarah October 9, 2015 - 7:30 pm

It does drive Hubby mad – but you are right it is beautiful, it even finds its way through the windows if left unchecked! Thanks for visiting us x

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Catherine October 9, 2015 - 10:00 am

These look gorgeous. We’ve just used our pressed leaves to make candle holders.

#pocolo

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Sarah October 9, 2015 - 11:04 am

Oh would love to see them! Ff you’ve blogged or pinned them you are welcome to pop the link here :) Thanks for visiting and taking the time to comment x

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Mummy here and there October 8, 2015 - 5:18 pm

What a lovely idea and what gorgeous colour leaves X

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Sarah October 8, 2015 - 5:45 pm

The colours are lovely, that’s what we were hoping to preserve – we’re really pleased with how this project worked out. Thanks for visiting us :)

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