Counterfeit Foliage

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Ok, ok. I’ll admit. I got tired of waiting for the leaves in the yard to turn and fall. So I made my own. So there.

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I found some basic leaf patterns by googling “basic leaf patterns”…cookie cutters work well too.

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Pin the pattern piece to a doubled piece of felt…

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and cut out two of every fall color you can get your hands on.

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Then sewing two at a time, run a tight zig zag stitch from one end of the leaf to the other. I used dark brown thread on all the colors.

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I liked the effect.

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Now fold the sides of the leaf upward toward the stitching for a 3-D look.

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You can tack them to a ribbon and hang them up somewhere…

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or….you can pretend you’re the wind…

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just waiting to blow and scatter the leaves everywhere.

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Well, you know…until we get the real thing.

Woodland Creatures

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Because it looks like this—yes that is snow—in the mountains by our house we know that our time to relish the Autumn-y look and feel of our beloved canyon is limited. Soon, it may all be under snow–perhaps even before the leaves all have a chance to turn.

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So, we bundled up warm and headed out again to the woods.

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Now I realize that most forest trails aren’t paved…but this is a more civilized forest, I guess you’d say.

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One with everything the modern woodland hiker needs. A beautiful rock to sit on…

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peaks that take your breath away…

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rolling hills that go on forever…

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several freezing waterfalls…

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and tons of silly little streams.

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Here’s hoping that winter will wait…

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until we get our fill of Fall.

Autumn Hide and Seek

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Autumn, at our place…is really taking it’s time.

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Creeping in with the stealth of a cat…

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Some hills are braver, showing their colors without hesitation.

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But most are still hiding from us…

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taking their sweet time…

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as if it were a game or something.

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In fact, in some corners, you must look very closely…

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or you’ll miss it altogether.

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Such lovely bursts of fall color–stepping forward…

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to surprise us with their sweetness.

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Come please, Autumn…

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show yourself.

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We are waiting.

 

The First Day of Fall

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Happy Autumn Everyone!

Can you feel it? That crispy nip that’s slowly creeping into the evening air. The colors of the yard slipping over to the deeper greens and browns and oranges. The need for longer sleeves and socks as the sun goes down. Leaves and apples and football. Hmmmmm…delicious.

September 22nd is the official “First Day of Fall” and our very favorite time of year. To celebrate we will be hosting an “Autumn Week of Winners” with a giveaway a day (except Sunday) beginning tomorrow–Wednesday, September 23, 2009 and ending Wednesday, September 30, 2009. Just think–seven prizes that you’ll reeeally want to win. No, really.

The giveaway prizes will help get this lovely holiday season off to a warm and cozy start–free stuff is always a good thing!

Stay tuned—you’re really going to LOVE this!

Crayon Leaf Mobile

Remember those crayons you bought a lot of a few weeks ago, and then broke them up and made Confetti Crayons?

Well, I hope you saved some, or still have some around that need sharpening…

You’ll need:

  • Wax paper
  • Crayons
  • Scissors
  • Pencil Sharpener
  • Black Permanent Marker
  • Iron
  • Hole Punch
  • String

First, print out this pdf, of a few outlines of leaves.

Get out your black marker, and trace the leaves on a sheet of wax paper.

Lay out your sheet of wax paper with the leaves on it, on your ironing surface. Put a sheet of clean paper underneath to protect your ironing board.

Then, start sharpening! (And please ignore the scorch marks on my ironing board while you’re at it.)

I tried to make my shavings all pretty and in the lines. Don’t bother, it’s a pain, and totally doesn’t make a difference. Just have fun mixing colors, and then just spread them evenly over the leaf shape on the waxed paper. This is a fun way to teach kids about monochromatic colors, complimentary colors, warm colors, cool colors, etc. Oh, and if you mix too many colors, well, you’ll end up with brown. Just a warning.

Place the 2nd sheet of wax paper over the top of your crayon shavings. Set your iron on low. Put another piece of clean white paper on top of your wax paper (to protect your iron). Then, press the iron slowly down on each of the leaves. Don’t move the iron around like you’re ironing something, just press it down, pick it up, move it, place it down again. If you move it, it will smear your crayon wax everywhere, and you’ll have a mess. Trust me on this.

Please note the lovely brown patch. I told you. Too many colors=brown.

Now, cut out your leaves! If you do this part while they’re still warm, they will be easier to cut, but they cool quickly. Don’t worry if your wax paper starts to lift a little on the edges, just put your cut out piece back between the clean paper, give it a little press with the iron, and voila! Sealed up again!

Poke some holes in your leaves, tie some string…

 and hang up somewhere pretty!

~ April