Most little girls pretend to be princesses at some point during their childhood. Whether they dress up in silky gowns or high heeled shoes, one thing tends to remain consistent: a princess has to wear a crown. During the autumn months, little girls can become princesses of the autumn by making their very own autumn leaf crowns. These crowns are simple to make, and although they may only last through the season, and they keep parents from having to buy expensive rhinestones tiaras. If you are interested in making an autumn leaf crown, make sure you have the following materials handy:
-malleable wire
-thick autumn ribbon
-thin ribbon
-autumn leaves
-beads
-scissors
Step One: While out and about on an autumn day, pick up colorful autumn leaves from the ground. The fresher the leaves the better, as older leaves become crunchy and can fall apart. When you have a sizeable pile of leaves (enough to fill a freezer bag), you are ready to start this project.
Step Two: Cut off a section of wire that, when wrapped around itself twice, is the approximate diameter of the child’s head. This is the base of the crown which will sit on the child’s head, so make sure that it is not too big or too small.
Step Three: Begin stringing leaves onto the wire by poking holes in the leaves with the end of the wire. You can string the leaves from their stems if you want them to hang down. You can also cut off the stems and string the leaves from their centers in order to make a fuller looking crown. Remember that the wire will be circled around twice, so try to string a good amount of leaves but not so many that the leaves crush each other when the wire is circled around the second time. The specific look of your crown is up to you.
Step Four: When you are done stringing your leaves, check for bare spots on your wire. You may not have any if you strung a lot of leaves. In this case, you will not need any thick ribbon. If you have a lot of bare wire showing, cover this by wrapping the thick autumn (autumnal colors, such as gold, yellow, orange, brown, red, and green) ribbon around the bare parts of the wire. When all bare parts of the wire have been covered, move on to the next step.
Step Five: Wrap the wire around itself so that you have two circles on top of each other. Make sure that the shape still fits the child’s head. Next, secure the wire ends at the back of the crown and cover them with ribbon so that the sharp ends are not pointing out.
Step Six: Cut strips of thin ribbon. These will be tied to the back of the crown and will hang down into the child’s hair. String a bead onto the end of each ribbon and tie a knot below it so that it stays in place. Then string all the ribbons onto the crown by tying the ends without beads to the back of the crown. Attach as many or as few ribbons as you wish. Try to pick thin ribbon colors that complement the colors of the leaves in your crown. When you have attached the last ribbon, step back and enjoy your new autumn leaf crown!
