Autumn / Fall leaf bowl

Bring Autumn into your home with a DIY fall leaf bowl / basket

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The best thing about autumn (or fall) is the fabulous colours on the leaves. This autumn /fall leaf bowl brings those fabulous colours into the home with very little effort. If you love fall / autumn then you will love this leaf bowl in your home. Complete the bowl in less than 30 minutes and then just wait for it to dry. It really brings some seasonal joy into the home. It is quite delicate (that is part of its charm) but it would easily hold some pot-pourri.

fall leaf bowl

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If you would like a printable version of this tutorial then please take a look at my shop.

What you will need:

Artificial leaves – great packs available at Amazon

Decoupage Glue – like Modge Podge

Small Brush

Balloon or bowl

Cling film / cling wrap

Video Tutorial

You can also view this video on my YouTube channel.

Step 1: Inflate a balloon

I recommend using a balloon to make your bowl as in my experience the leaves stick rather well to the bowl / cling film and can be hard to remove. Inflate your balloon to the size bowl you would like and place it in a bowl to keep it in place. You will notice in my photos that I changed the bowl supporting the balloon during the making of my leaf bowl. This was because my balloon was moving about too much.

If you use a bowl instead of a balloon cover the bowl with clingfilm first so that your leaves do not stick to the bowl.

Inflated balloon

Step 2: Stick leaves to balloon

Apply glue to the balloon and using more glue stick a leaf to the balloon ensuring it is covered in glue. It is just like any other decoupage. If you need any tips take a look at Decoupage Tutorial and Project Ideas.

One leaf applied

Add further leaves making sure that they overlap until you have the size bowl you require. Always go a little bit bigger than you want as it may sag as you squash it a bit later to get a flat bottom on the bowl.

Leaves on balloon

Step 3: Cover with clingfilm

Carefully cover the leaves with a layer of cling film (wrap) to hold the leaves down flat. You may have noticed on the photographs that they tend to stick up a bit.

Cling film applied

Now it just needs to dry!

I found that if you leave the cling film on the leaves it takes a very long time to dry. I slowly peeled the cling film up and away from the leaves over the following 24 hours. This allowed it to dry more quickly but kept the leaves held down. I still had a few sticking out but I quite liked the effect.

Once it is completely dry deflate the balloon slowly and peel it away from the leaves. You now have a fall leaf bowl! If there are any straggly bits of glue then snip them off.

Remember if you would like a printable version of this tutorial then please take a look at my shop.

Autumn / Fall leaf bowl

If you used a bowl then your leaf bowl will probably have a flatter bottom and sit more evenly on a flat surface. It is a matter of choice. Here is one I made on a bowl.

Leaf Bowl

I am keeping both of mine as they are and not putting anything in them so that we can enjoy all those rich colours by the window.

If you enjoy making items for your home then check out these great tutorials:

Make a paper organiser from a cereal box

Button Art made by you

Gorgeous Flowers from Old Magazines

Make your own doorstop to match your decor

Remember to pin this tutorial on Pinterest so that you can find it later (perhaps next autumn / fall).

Fall leaf bowl

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15 Comments

  1. love this craft idea. found at our dollar tree the pkgs of leaves. ques. approx how many leaves to to use per bowl
    thank You

    1. It really depends on the size of your bowl. But, I have a bowl about 5″ across and that used about 12. Another one is about 8″ across and it used about 25. I have tried to count them but it is not easy! Good luck with your bowl.

    1. To be honest, I have not tried it. However, I am currently experimenting with preserving autumn leaves and I have painted some with glue on both sides. They are keeping quite well. I suspect that if you manage to use real leaves it will not last as long. Worth a try though!

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