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PRESERVING LEAVES 
If
you have ever experienced New Hampshire's fall foliage season, you
have most likely lost control of your self and started collecting
leaves at one point or another. If you employ some of the
following preserving techniques, you can hold on to your prized
collection of leaves until well after the trees are bare and
ground frozen.
Take your leaf and stick it
between two pieces of wax paper. Cover with an old towel,
cloth or piece of paper and use an iron, set to warm, to seal
the two pieces of wax paper together. Avoid scorching the leaf
by keeping the iron moving at all times. Allow it to cool at
first and then trim around your leaf. Be sure to leave a
narrow margin around the leaf so the paper stays sealed.
Make a solution of glycerin
and water. Use twice as much water as you do glycerin. Pour
into a flat pan and completely cover your leaves with the
water and glycerin solution. If your leaves float, you will
have to weight them down. Let them set for up to six days. The
leaves slowly absorb the solution, which makes them soft and
flexible for many years.
Dry leaves in the microwave by
laying them between two paper towels. If it is possible,
you'll want to set your microwave's power setting to medium or
low. Now run the microwave for between 30 and 90 seconds,
depending on the dryness of the leaves. You'll want to keep a
close eye on them to prevent over heating. Note: this is one
method I haven't tried, be warned.
The most common way is first
to find a big book. Doing this may ruin the pages, so you'll
want to use an old book that is of little value to you. If
your leaves are wet to the touch, place them in a sunny window
until they are dry. Putting wet leaves increases the
odds of just getting green fuzzy moldy leaves. Place the dry leaves
in the book with a paper towel or blotting paper in contact
with the front and back or the leaf. You can place many
leaves in a book, so long as there are several pages between each set of leaves. If you put more than one leaf to a
page, take care not to overlap them. Keep the leaves in the
book for about 7 days, longer for larger or moister leaves.
You may want to replace the paper towels on the second or
third day.
