DIY Fall Paper Leaf Garland

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Just so you know, this definitely isn’t your traditional looking fall leaf garland

It doesn’t really scream ‘FALL’ but I like the fact that it can go from September all the way through December if I want to keep it up that long.

I made the leaves out of vellum which is a thick translucent paper.

Here’s how easy it was to make this fall leaf garland with lights:

I went online and found free printable leaf shapes and used those for my patterns.

I just placed the vellum over the leaf shape and traced it with a pencil.

Then I cut them all out.

Next I gently erased any pencil lines left on the leaves.

I wanted the edges to look aged so I took used coffee grounds and mixed a little water with them to make a really dark coffee liquid. Then I painted the edges of the leaves with the coffee and I let it sit for a few minutes.

Not only does the coffee darken the edges, but it also slightly wrinkles the vellum which gives the leaves a more interesting life-like shape.

Then I wiped off any excess coffee and grounds with a tissue.

Next I used a hole punch to punch a hole in the bottom of each leaf.

Then I strung the leaves onto a string of battery-operated LED microdot lights. The lights are strung on a wire that’s pliable so I could form a loop to hold each leaf in place.