Preserving Leaves in Your Scrapbook

With fall now upon us and the leaves getting ready to change, you may find yourself wanting to create a fall foliage page for your scrapbook. But how can you preserve the leaves you find this fall in your scrapbook without them drying out and losing their vibrant colors?

Anna Griffin of Anna Griffin, Inc. was a guest on the DIY network's Scrapbooking show today and shared a great tip. To preserve leaves for your scrapbook, use glycerin, which is available at your local drugstore. Create a mixture of water and glycerin (Anna recommends two parts water to one part glycerin) and place the leaves in the mixture. Cover the mixture and let set for several weeks, checking periodically that the leaves are still covered with mixture. Once the leaves are flexible, remove them from the mixture and allow them to dry out on paper towels or newspaper. Allow them to dry approximately one week.

Once you follow this process, your leaves will be flexible and will not dry and crumble in your scrapbook. The leaves may darken in color. To preserve their color, you can also touch them up with chalks.

To adhere the leaves to your scrapbook page, use foam adhesive (such as foam tape or foam dots).