On a recent trip to the east coast, I spied some autumn oak leaves that were just starting to change color.
They were so pretty that I had to collect and press them. I knew that I would find some use for the multi-colored autumn leaves. Once at home I decided to use them to decorate a few boxes. Beginning with a sturdy L'Occtaine box, I covered it with a fibrous beige washi paper. This was easily done by laying the top of the box onto the washi paper and cutting around it leaving a margin of paper large enough to wrap around the box top sides. Next glue (Fabri-Tac) was applied evenly to the top surface of the box and the paper was pressed onto it. The sides of the box lid were then covered with glue and the paper pressed down so that there were four wings on the corners. These wings were then trimmed closely to the box top corners. The same thing was done to cover the box bottom.
I decided that I wanted to waterproof my box so I applied 1 minute UV-LED resin to both the top and bottom of the box. I did a little of the box at a time using a small LED light to cure the resin. (Both the resin and light are available at HM BFC). The resulting box was waterproof but shiny and the washi paper became translucent so that the outer surface of the box became quite yellow. To correct the look of the box, I decided to try spraying on a Krylon matte finish. It worked! The box is now more natural looking (matching the leaf and washi paper). The box is still yellow so next time I make an autumn leaf box I will use a white or beige box. Also I will skip applying the resin and just spray the papered box with the matte finish. So what am I going to do with my autumn leaf box? Well, of course I will use this one to house the acorns gathered with the leaves. Other leaf boxes will probably be used for gift giving. Next, I have a plan to convert the acorns into jewelry! I love Autumn!
