How To Preserve Leaves
A dried floral arrangement is not only about flowers. You also need leaves and foliage to do it up. But where do you find leaves after fall? It makes sense to collect leaves at fall so you can continue making dried floral arrangements even through winter when the trees are bare and frozen.
As with flowers, leaves can be preserved in a variety of ways. One of the easiest methods is to place a leaf between two sheets of waxed paper. Now cover it with an old towel or a piece of cloth and run a warm iron over it to seal the edges of the wax paper, taking care that the leaf is at the center with a margin around it so it does not get caught in the pressed edges. Move the iron continuously or you will scorch the leaf too. Seal the paper with the heat.
Or make a solution of one part of glycerin and two parts of water. Lay out the leaves on a big wide bottomed pan and pour the solution over them until they are completely submerged. Weigh down the leaves that float up. Now leave the pan aside for a week or so till the leaves gradually soak in the solution and turn soft and flexible. These leaves will last for years.
Leaves can also be dried in the microwave by layering them between two paper towels. Set the microwave’s power setting to medium or preferably, low, and run it for between half a minute to just over a minute and a half. This will depend on the dryness of the leaf. Keep a close watch on the leaves or they may overheat and be scorched. This method is not too popular as there is no set guide available for how long you should leave the leaf in the microwave.
The most popular way to preserve a leaf is to find a big book and use that to dry the leaves. Drying leaves in books very often stains and ruins the pages so try to get hold a book that is not very useful or important to you. If the leaves are wet first dry them in a sunny patch till the wetness has gone. Never put wet leaves in a book as you might get moldy and fuzzy leaves later. Place the dry leaves between two sheets of blotting paper or paper towels and then place it between the pages of the book. If you intend to dry more leaves in the same book make sure to leave about twenty pages between every set of leaves. If you are putting more than one leaf to a page, never overlap them. Keep the leaves in the book for at least a week, or longer depending on how large or fleshy the leaf is. It might be helpful to replace he paper towel on the fourth day or so.
