Tuesday 21 November 2017

Preserving Autumn


I saved some of the last leaves of autumn and decided to try preserving them in vegetable glycerin.


I tried some berries too, but they were not successful.


I didn't have a suitable container in which to soak them, so ended up using our roasting pan as a glycerin bath.  I found a method online, which stated that the leaves needed to be weighed down to prevent curling, but I just pressed them down into the solution.  After a few days, I turned them over to ensure that they were completely saturated in the solution.


I also tried doing some stems in a vase, though this was not a huge success.  Relying on the stems absorbing the solution is a long process.


The photo doesn't really do them justice, as they have actually turned out quite well.  Considering that I've had them indoors for about three or four weeks now, they are not all shrivelled up.  I had hoped to wire them and display in our kitchen, but time got the better of me and they ended up in this vase.  Maybe next year, I can be better prepared and actually display some properly.

3 comments:

  1. It is such a simple idea, though the process is a little messy and it uses a fair amount of glycerin. Marie x

    ReplyDelete
  2. They look lovely. I can never resist a pretty leaf. I collect lots of "special" leaves every autumn and put them in my flower press - very homemade contraption cooked up dangerously with my husband's jigsaw, some plywood and long screws with wing-nuts and washers. It's not a think of beauty but it does the job. Bx

    ReplyDelete