Pressed Leaves in Document Frames // Bring Nature Inside

Pressed leaves art: how to dry leaves and frame them

I love trees! When I got married, I told my husband Jason that I must have a backyard with lots of trees. 16 years later, we have a bit of a forest (in the suburbs, I might add!). BUT, back to the post…Pressed Leaves in Document Frames can bring a bit of nature to your indoor world!

Due to my love for nature, this is a project I’ve considered so many times over the years. But, other projects kept jumping in front of it.

Until….I saw a beautiful example of pressed leaves in Issue No. 7 of The Magnolia Journal. As we all know, JoAnna Gaines knows how to inspire! After taking a look at the creations in JoAnna’s magazine, I jumped in with my project!

This post contains affiliate links which means should you make a purchase after clicking through one of my links, I might make a small commission at no additional cost to you. Please see my full disclosure policy for details.

SUPPLIES for pressed leaves in frames project:

• Beautiful leaves from your favorite tree(s) or plant(s)
• Document frames (mine are from Walmart)
• Rubber Cement
• Glass Cleaner (I’m a fan of SprayWay)
• Something to remove sticky remains of label on glass (This isn’t what I had on hand, but I really like this!)
• Heavy books and other heavy objects for leaf pressing
• Plain, white printer paper

How to Put Your Pressed Leaves in Document Frames:

Step 1: Find Some Leaves that you love.

Perhaps you love the way some particular leaves look, or perhaps a certain tree has meaning for you. You decide!

You will want to gather more than you think you will need, because some pressings will turn out better than other. Gotta have options!

I gathered leaves from a pin oak, maple, and magnolia tree in our back yard. There are things I love about all of these trees and I was so excited to use each of them!

I should mention, this particular branch (below) actually broke off during a storm we had a couple of days before I started this project. You certainly do not need to take that much off of your tree!

Step 2: Trim leaves down and press in book

Grab one of your heavy books, selecting a book that you don’t love. The oils in the leaves can leave a residue and potentially ruin some of the pages.

Trim the leaves down and place on a piece of plain printer paper.

Put a sheet on either side of the leaves, then gently close the book. You might shape the arrangement of the leaves slightly to ensure they are not folded on top of themselves.

Step 3: Put a heavy object on the book

After placing the leave between two sheets of paper in your book, close it and place something really heavy on top of the book.

Then wait!

I waited about 2 weeks (I did this before our recent Alaska vacation), but one week would be sufficient time.

Step 4: Gather your other supplies to start the framing process

Grab your rubber cement, document frame, window cleaner and cloth, and possibly something to clean the sticky residue remaining from the paper used in packaging.

Step 5: Apply rubber cement to your leaves

I found the leaves I loved the best. Some certainly looked better than others.

I then applied a small amount of rubber cement to the back side of the leaf spine.  Gently place the leaves in the arrangement you prefer, directly on the glass.

Step 6: Gently place the top sheet of glass over the leaves

Document frames work perfectly for this! The frames come with two sheet of glass. I really wanted this look versus using a white or even colored backing behind the leaves.

But, if you prefer having a white/colored background, you could easily grab a regular frame and use a paper color of your choice under the leaves.

It’s your pressed leaves project, make it your own! 😉

Reassembling the frame took a bit of care. I ended up getting finger prints everywhere!

I tried really hard to remove all of the fingerprints from the insides of the sheets of glass and handle primarily on the edges and outsides.

Pressed leaves in document frames!

I have several places I am considering hanging these beauties! Meaningful home decor is my favorite! Knowing these leaves are from some of our favorite trees makes them super special.

My son gets the credit for the majority of my outdoor photos in this post. He is almost 14 and any 1:1 time I get with him is precious. For whatever reason, he asked if he could help me! Be still my heart.

Do you have any trees you’d love to try this with? Share with me in the comments below!

If you want other ways to add meaningful home decor into your own home, you might like these:

• Repurpose a Vintage Window
• Paint Old Frames to Update Your Decor
• How to Create A Gallery Wall that is Personal to You 

I’m so glad you are here!

This blogging journey is so rewarding and I appreciate you coming to my site when there are so many others out there. This post is my 97th post! I’m not sure how that is possible, but I appreciate the opportunity to share my passion.

If you haven’t signed up for the Love Our Real Life newsletter, I would love to have you!

Have a great day!

PIN How to Press leaves to your favorite Pinterest board:

Try your own pressed leaves art project with leaves from trees you love!

You’ll be glad you did;-)