Michigan Leaves by TheMakerandme

Michigan fall weather is awesome. Our unseasonably warm start to fall was in the 80's. Way to hot! Several days without adequate rain had me worried that the leaves I wanted would be all dried up on the trees.

Maples are turning to rich yellow, gold, and red. Hickory are a brilliant yellow. Oaks are always the last to turn their deep hues of gold and red.
I was able to find some great maple specimens of red , yellow, and green with definable green veins. Wow! I was thrilled about that.

Some bushes that I have no idea of the names were brilliant in red and some were yellow with brown spots. Very unique. It seems every year that I collect I find many different colors and patterns that I havent seen before. That must have to do with the age of the tree, and/or directly related to its growing habit, and the amount of rain.

Vermont is often referred to as the best fall color in the nation, however, recently I read that their Maples are suffering from pollution. That in turn will affect the Maple Syrup production.

I like to think that Michigan is the front runner for beauty and much less pollution.

This year I chose some smaller leaves for use in collages, and for mounting single specimens.

Stay tuned. They are drying as I write.

I just know that you have all wanted to know all of your lives how to become a Leaf Picker. Sure I know there are Cotton Pickers out there too. I have also done that. Believe me, being a Leaf Picker is alot easier and saves serious injuries to your hands.

Here are a few tips to get you started on your way to becoming the World's Second Best Leaf Picker. No, you won't become #1 because that is my title.

First Tip:

What are you going to do with these leaves after you pick them? Going to mount them? Or just collect them?
Or perhaps you might find a market for selling them.

Second Tip:

Pick them at the appropriate time of the year. Pick them off the tree, not off the ground. No one wants dried up old, moldy leaves.
Spring time is a great time to begin if you want new, young green leaves. Green works great in any color combination. Or use several shades of green.
Summer is another good time to find nice supple green shaded leaves.
Fall is the very best time to get colored leaves.

They still come in all shapes and sizes, for whatever project you might be doing. There are too many colors, and to many different kinds of leaves to collect, to be mentioned here. The state you reside in has there own very unique trees. Michigan has more than 100 different kinds of trees. Our most popular are Oak, Maple, Hickory, Ash, and Walnut.
These all have the most astounding colors in the fall.

Third Tip

Pick them. Decide what you want to pick. Schedule a time. Take with you several plastic bags, such as bags you bring home from the stores with your purchases in them, as in Walmart bags. Each bag can be used for a specific size, or a specific kind of leaf, or maybe use one just for a certain color.
Pick a nice comfortable day. No wind, no rain, not to cold, or to hot, or you won't enjoy this excursion.
Take a bottle of water for a rest stop.
Find a good wooded area where it has clear walking paths. Perhaps a park or a walking trail.
One warning here: Stay off other people's property. If there are signs saying DO NOT PICK THE FOLIAGE, FLOWERS ETC, then find somewhere else to pick your leaves. I visit the State and County parks and usually have no problems. If in doubt, please ask. Even in some State and National Parks, they don't want you picking one little leaf.

Believe me when I say," You do not need more than 20-30 leaves in just a few bags. If you pick more, you will end up with way more than you can handle at one time."
See next Module

Fourth Tip

Alright now you have your leaves. You are ready to proceed to the next step of: pressing.

There are several methods one can use for pressing. I will list methods I have used and the preferred method.
1. Old books
2. Old newspapers
3. Preferred- Leaf Press

You can experiment and decide which is best for you. The first two methods work but are rather primitive.
The leaf press can be obtained online or in hobby stores. Most of them are small, and rather expensive. I have a pattern in which I will have it made and on a larger scale. Small ones are not adequate for pressing a large amount of leaves. The larger ones enable you to press 5-10 on each page. In the press you will not need to worry about skipping pages. Each page of the press will is thick enough to not leak onto other pages.

Whatever method you use you will need to do the following steps.

1. Make sure the leaves are inserted between at least three pages. So moisture is not passed on to the adjoining pages.
2. Make sure the whole leaf is laid flat and do NOT crimp the tips of the leaves. Only put on enough leaves to prevent crowding
3. Let set 4-7 days and check at least once for dryness. Once dried, the next step is storage.

Storage

Storage is simple for me. I use plastic size shoe boxes with lids. I put two thin sheets of tissue paper cut to fit the box, between the leaves. Presently I put about 4-6 leaves on each sheet of tissue paper, layer with tissue paper, do another layer of leaves.

It is important to keep the leaves out light, and/or near a heat source.

I will be back to talk about the next step - What is next for all these leaves I have collected.

What shall I do with all these Leaves?
1. Put them between wax paper and iron them with a warm iron. Let set till cool. Make a booklet or scrapbook.

2. They can be preserved and stored for use in fall decorations, baskets, wire them with wire to use in florals with leaves.

3. I make mine into art and sell them.
Hope you have had fun choosing leaves for your project. If you have any questions, you can email me at themakerandme@yahoo.com. I would love to hear from you.

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