How to Make a Beeswax Leaf Garland

Learn how to make a gorgeous, eco-friendly beeswax leaf garland using colorful fall leaves that are dipped in melted beeswax to preserve them.

Melt beeswax on low heat.
(This detailed tutorial shows how to make beeswax-dipped fall leaves.)
Beeswax can be flammable at high heat so go slow with low heat.
Use tongs to dip fall leaves into the melted beeswax.
If the leaves have moisture in them, they will bubble, sizzle, and pop.
Mine were very wet so I only left them in the wax for a second or less before I removed them; just enough to coat both sides.
They started to sizzle and splatter hot wax immediately so I couldn't leave them in for long.
Place the dipped leaves on parchment paper to cool and harden.
Repeat for all your leaves.
Cut a long piece of twine for the garland, tie loops at each end of the twine, and hang it up on the mantel.
If you want to glue the leaves onto the twine, you can do this with a small dab of glue.
Instead, I opted to open up the strands of twine to make a small opening and slide the leaf stem into the hole in the twine.
Then I pinched the twine closed and it "self-sealed" around the leaf.
Repeat for all of the wax leaves for your garland, spacing them throughout the twine.
Your lovely beeswax leaf garland is done!
PRO TIP: Please handle this with care. This beeswax leaf garland isn't very durable.
A curious child (or anyone, really) could easily pull the leaves out of the twine since they're just resting in between the layers of the twine garland string.
But as long as it is handled with care, it should work fine up on the mantel!

Press the leaves between the pages of a book for a few days to help remove any moisture and flatten the leaves before dipping them in the wax.
You can find beeswax at craft stores, online retailers like Amazon, from sellers on Etsy or eBay, at local farmer's markets, or from your local beekeeper!
Get a designated pot or crockpot to use for melting beeswax at a thrift store or garage sale. Don't use your normal cooking pots because you'll never get the beeswax out!