Making art from leaves durable

Press leaves

The simplest method is to put the leaves between tissue paper in thick books that are additionally weighted. The disadvantage, however, is that leaves with strong stems and high moisture content take up to two weeks to dry out completely.

If you dry plant leaves regularly, it is worth purchasing a large-format flower press.

Preserve leaves with a flower press

1. Loosen the screws and open the press.
2. Place a layer of cardboard on the lower wooden disc and cover it with paper.
3. Place the sheet carefully and cover with a sheet of paper.
4. This is followed by the second cardboard disc, another sheet of paper, the next leaf to be preserved and another sheet of paper.
5. Place the wooden disc on the filled press and tighten the screws firmly.
6. Change the paper every few days.

Dry with dry salt or silica gel

If you don't need the leaves pressed flat, you can preserve the leaves with drying pearls or salt.

For this you need:

• A tightly fitting container,
• Drying salt for flowers or silica gel beads.

Method:

1. Pour drying salt or gel beads into the container about a finger's breadth.
2. Place leaves on top and cover with the drying material.
3. If necessary, you can put in more leaves and put a little salt or gel over them.
4. In this way, autumn leaves are already preserved after half a day. With fresh plant material, the process takes a few days.
5. Take out and carefully shake off any adhering salt.

Laminating sheets

If you have a laminator at home, you can seal the sheets in and make them durable for a very long time. Due to the protective plastic coat, the small works of art of nature do not lose any of their color strength.

1. Place leaves on the laminate.
2. Make sure that there is enough space between the leaves. They should cut out so that air does not get in.