Bring Fall Colors Indoors

There’s nothing more luscious than inviting nature indoors in the fall:

Preserve some colorful leaves. You can iron them between sheets of waxed paper, microwave them for a few seconds, put them in a solution of glycerin, or press them between the pages of a heavy book. Then you can apply them to backsplashes, place them artfully in a vase, mound them around a pile of gourds or squashes, or even use them as coasters for your favorite beverages.

Food is art. Shop at the local Farmer’s Market and load up on apples, pears, pumpkins, decorative squashes, nuts, gourds, and sunflowers.  A simple wooden bowl loaded with these treasures makes an abundant centerpiece -on a mantel-piece or pile them in a basket. .

Other treasures. Bring in grapevines to twine along the countertops, or make wreaths for doors or cabinets.  Corn shocks are traditional to stand beside a door, but broom corn makes a beautiful and less usual alternative with its graceful russet fronds.

Adapted from Witch in the Kitchen, by Cait Johnson