Fall Banner with Real Dried Leaves!

I mentioned earlier that the kids and I gathered a whole bunch of pretty fall leaves on a recent hike. We pressed them flat until they were nice and dry.... Not exactly sure on the Martha way to do that, but we made a pile on the corner of the counter, then stacked a load of magazines on top for a few days. Hmmm, yeah, that's probably what she does, too! Then we used them for fun projects. Here's one of the things we made with our pressed and dried fall leaves: A Word Banner for our fireplace mantel:
When our leaves were good and dry, we sorted them by size. The kids love to be involved ... be sure to have extras so you don't mind some getting cracked! I punched two 1/4 inch holes in each leaf. Remember not to get your dry, cracked, half-gone-nail-polish thumb in the shot when photographing this step for the world wide web:
I then threaded a burgundy satin cord through about 20 medium sized red maple leaves:
I chose to embellish my word banner with the word "BLESSED." I can always use a good reminder to be appreciate for God's many blessings to our family. I went, as usual, with the easiest thing I had on hand - gold Glitter Glue. Quick and fail-proof, but you can use real glitter if you don't mind the mess. When I use glitter glue, I'm generous, but not too gloppy, as it shrinks up while it dries. These letters will be flat when fully dry:Here's how my B-L-E-S-S-E-D banner letters turned out:
I laid more of the leaves on the top of the mantel. Then decorated with freshly gathered pine cones and chestnuts:
This should be nice through Thanksgiving, after which the Christmas decorating transformations start! Enjoy and let me know what you're doing with your dried leaves this year! ... and be blessed!