Autumn Leaf Easter Basket

Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower.
- Albert Camus (1913 - 1960)

I feel more fortunate to live in the Blue Mountains in autumn than at any other time of year.  If I ever ponder the thought of living somewhere else autumn inevitably lures me back with its showy red and gold leaves and sunshine that glistens and bounces off every surface. Cool mornings; cold nights; warm, warm days romping through fallen leaves; meeting friends for picnics; the children spending all hours in the garden. After sizzling and sweating our way through summer, these days in cool comfort feel luxurious indeed.

Autumn is inspirational. It's colours are too good to leave outside so for this post I've designed an Autumn project to bring the season indoors. I hope you'll have as much fun making this seasonal project as I did.

We're surrounded by gorgeous maple trees here in the mountains and at this time of year they're at their best. I found a website showing how to make rose buds from the leaves and since Easter is coming up this weekend I thought I'd incorporate them into an Easter basket.

Materials:
Collection of Autumn leaves
Basket
Raffia, shredded paper, or straw
Florists foam
Chocolate eggs

Here we go...

Making the rosebuds involves folding and rolling the first leaf for the centre and then folding the second and third leaves around the outside before securing it with thread.  Full step by step photos are available here. After making a posy of maple leaf roses I put them into some florists foam and then into a basket with some more leaves around the edges and in between the rose buds. Some raffia hides the florists foam and bulks up the arrangement.  Once you have your rosebuds. leaves, and raffia in place pop some Easter eggs in amongst the raffia and you're done.  Now all that's left is figuring out a way to keep little fingers from rummaging through it!