Now that it’s September, the leaves will start their annual changing of the colors. Well, maybe not here in Los Angeles, where the temperatures were in the 90s this week. But in the rest of the country, autumn leaves are dropping. So what does one do with all these leaves besides raking them? Here’s a creative use — transform them into roses. Big maple leaves work best. I actually used artificial maple leaves because I had a lot left over from another project. And again, the leaves haven’t changed in Southern California yet. 
What you’ll need:
Fall maple leaves – If you do use real leaves, try to get them freshly fallen. They will be more flexible and not be brittle.
Twig
Twist tie
- Fold one leaf in half horizontally. Keep the flat, folded edge at the top.
- Place the end of the twig at one end. I like how using a twig gives the rose a natural stem.
- Roll the folded leaf completely around the twig.
- Repeat with five more leaves until you have a tight rose bud. Hold onto the bottom with your fingers to keep the leaves in place.
- Wrap three unfolded leaves around the rose bud.
- Bind all the leaves to the twig with a twist tie. If you want you can wrap floral tape around the base to hide the twist tie, but I left it as is because in an arrangement you don’t see down there anyway.
