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Even though the temps here in Central Texas are still flirting dangerously with the dreaded 100 degree mark (seriously, 97 is SO much better than 102), the fall crafting bug has officially bitten Mama B.  It’s the same almost every year and I just can’t help it.  Even though our temperatures aren’t screaming autumn (or even whispering it really), there are other little things I can’t help but notice.  Earlier sunsets, high school stadium lights on Friday nights.  A new breeze that feels especially refreshing in the early morning walks about the garden.  September is the month in which the changes begin, most definitely.  So I snag a pumpkin spice candle off the shelf at the store, indulge in that little fresh market bunch of orange, gold and crimson blooms and I giddily plan our fall crafts.

First up this year was a simple, fun project of melted wax autumn leaves.

On our visit to Washington we were lucky enough to see some of the first leaves begin to fall and change.  One particular park we visited was littered with small leaves that had beautiful splashes of green, yellow and red throughout and we collected a handful of them, hopeful to bring them home for our nature box.  Sadly, by the time I was finding a spot to pack them just later that evening, they had become curled, dry and crumbly.  We left them behind and I promised Asher we would do our own leaf project when we got home.  This one definitely satisfied this our early craving for fall leaves!

I peeled paper off of old or broken crayons and set everything up the night before so that we could dive right in the next morning. (I highly recommend set-ups at times when little ones are otherwise occupied!)

Here is a list of the things you will need:

- wax crayons in fall colors (with paper covers removed)

-wax paper

- cheese grater and/or vegetable peeler

-old or dark colored towel (to protect your ironing board from wax stains)

-iron and ironing board

-scissors

-leaf pattern templates if you have any on hand- these really aren’t needed but can help if you want to make particular types of leaves (ie. maple, oak, ect)

First thing you do is get those little hands (carefully) to work grating.  We used both the cheese grater for very fine shavings as well as the vegetable peeler for larger chunks/shavings and got two very different looks.  Asher and Amelia were both able to use the cheese grater easily and safely, but I would keep the peeler in the hands of older children (Asher did great with it).  Although the finer shavings were pretty to look at in a big pile on the paper, once they melted down they were much more likely to run all together and create more of a mushy brown look if you aren’t very careful with the ironing part.  For this reason I preferred the peeler for creating larger shavings and chunks of wax.  Asher preferred a mixture of the two.

After filling your paper with the color shavings of choice, tear off another piece of wax paper about the same size to lay over the top of your shavings.  I found that picking up the paper filled with shavings, moving it to the ironing board (which was covered with the old towel) and then placing the top layer of wax paper was easiest.  You want to heat your iron up to a medium to low setting, make sure there is no water or steam leaking out (I had to press the steam button a few times to release a bit of the remaining water in mine while ironing over the dry towel) and in slow, up and down motions press to melt the wax.  Be sure not to move the iron from side to side as you would when ironing clothes because this will cause your colors to spread, run and mix all together (making a brownish blah color).  If you want to spread some colors a bit, use the very tip of your iron to slowly spread them.  After pressing the top, I flipped the paper and pressed a bit on the other side as well, especially on those larger piles of finely grated wax, to be sure that they were melted through on both sides of wax paper.

After you are finished pressing, give your wax a few minutes to cool down and dry.  When the wax feels properly dried, start cutting out your leaves!  We used both patterns and did many “freestyle” designs.  Let your creativity flow.

If the edges of your leaves look a little bit frayed or the wax starts to crumble, put them back on your ironing board and do a quick second press around the edges.  You could even pre-cut your wax paper into leaf shapes before grating and melting the wax in between them, but I find that I prefer doing it on a larger sheet and then cutting out because the pressing/melting process tends to be less messy.

After our leaves were completely cut out and dried, we were left with the big decision as to how we would display them.  We decided on a few different options (and I’m sure you all could share a few others of your own!).  We poked holes in the tips of many of the leaves and tied a bit of twine through them to hang them on windows and on a branch mobile.  The mobile was Asher’s idea and how he wanted to display them in his own room.  I wanted to hang some in the kitchen window so that I could enjoy their beauty as I go about my normal tasks of cooking and dish washing.

And the leftovers we simply taped straight onto the other windows around the house.  It was a quick project that was easy for me to help finish and/or clean- up after the kids.  Not that I don’t encourage them to participate in normal completion and clean-up of their projects, but, you know how the attention spans of the (almost) 2 and 4-year-old crowds can be.

If you try this project at home, I would love to see your results or even just hear about them in the comments!

And then, if you are feeling really fall inspired- ride that high and get cooking.

Maybe bake some fresh bread…

Everyday Oat Bread.  A delicious wheat, honey and oat bread from Amanda Soule’s new book.  It’s definitely a new family fav.

Or whip up a pot of creamy potato and leek soup…

Recipe from the same book, but slightly adapted to our family’s taste.  Great fall soup but would be perfect for a cold winter day.

Or make a batch of fresh peach ice cream with that awesome new ice cream maker your mom got you as a late anniversary present (thanks Mom and Dad)!

Don’t think I have ever eaten peach ice cream this delish, seriously.

Trust me, you won’t regret it.

Cheers to being bitten by the autumn craft bug!