Take a walk and collect colourful leaves, berries and twigs and bring them home to make an autumn wreath
Autumn is one of the most colourful seasons of the year. The green leaves of the summer turn red, yellow, orange and brown. The hedgerows are filled with juicy blackberries waiting to be picked for a homemade pie or an autumn fruit jam. And the trees are dotted with all sorts of berries such as rowen and viburnum. Itís nice to get outside and admire all of these vibrant colours but you can enjoy all them from the comfort of your own home too. Take a walk and collect colourful leaves, berries and twigs and bring them home to make an autumn wreath. Reserve some of the leaves for later.
Blackberries
You can also make a wreath out of sprigs of blackberries. Shiny, red unripened blackberries add warmth to the wreath. Use thick gloves when handling the berries as the brambles will prick you. Spear some crab apples with thin wire and attach these to the wreath.
If you want to preserve the autumn colours, make an arrangement of leaves and berries and paint a watercolour picture.
You will need: dry coloured leaves, dried hydrangea petals, berries, newspaper, thin wire and glue.
Dry the leaves
Dry the leaves out for about a week before making the wreath. Lay the leaves out flat between sheets of newspaper and sandwich between some heavy books.
To form the wreath, bend the floral wire into a circle and twist so it is secure. Take a thinner piece of wire and make a loop around the top of the wreath so you can hang it from the wall later. Cut strips of newspaper and wrap these all around the wreath.
Glue the leaves onto the wreath, stems pointing inwards and overlap them slightly. Glue the smaller leaves on top.
Using some of the reserved leaves and a little play dough, make an autumn pixie or fairy friend. Use two large twigs for the legs, and finer twigs for the arms. Roll the play dough into a ball and insert the twig legs and arms. For the head, add a large seed or dried thistle head, you could even use a crab apple or a tiny pinecone. Use a large leaf folded over for the dress and pressed flower petals or leaves from a sycamore tree for the wings.
