It's autumn and the streets are lined with the most beautiful leaves. They're just too pretty not to be picked up! So we decided to make use of what is so readily available in nature, and make beautiful DIY leaf lanterns with Casper and his friend Mees.

For this project, we need semi-dry leaves (just put leaves in a heavy book and leave for a few days to keep them from curling -- it's best to use paper kitchen towel sheets if you want to avoid stains on the pages of the book). It's fun to use leaves in different shapes, colours and sizes (don't forget to collect some tiny ones too). You also need a few clean glass jars, and decoupage glue like Décopatch or Mod Podge.

First step is to paint a layer of glue on the jars. Then, paint the leaves, stick on the jar, and paint over again.It is ok if the leaves overlap, but you can also choose to use them more individually.Some leaves can be a bit stiff -- cutting the petiole of the leaf can help. Also, once the glue is bit drier, you can push stubborn leaves down quite easily.

Done! Now we just have to wait a few hours for the paint to dry, and to get completely translucent. In the meantime, we took the boys out to the park for a run and to look for more leaves. Autumn is such a pretty season. And we have been so lucky with the weather so far here in Amsterdam!

What a fun little project -- so easy with such pretty results. Now that the evenings are getting darker and colder, we love lighting candles in our homes to bring in warmth... And our little boys are super proud to see their creations on the table of course!

xxx Esther

PS Thank you Maud Fontein for taking these beautiful photos!