Decorate your home with nature walk finds

The pleasures of autumn are fleeting, as we well know. It seems all too soon that the brilliant display of dazzling fall colour gives way to the unrelieved winter months. So take advantage of these last warm days to get outside for a ramble through the fields, picking up leaves, flowers, pods and nuts to create simple projects that are as easy as a walk in the, er, park.

Let your imagination run free. Choose leaves with different colours and shapes, such as oak leaves, Japanese maples and birch, and press them to preserve. Keep complementary and contrasting fabrics on hand, as well as an assortment of ribbon, botanical drawings, etc.

How to decorate your home with nature walk finds
1 Leafy lamp
Walking through fields and forests reveals unexpected delights on a fall day. Ann Marie chose a blown-glass lamp with an open bottom and attached pressed leaves on the inside with spray adhesive for a pleasing display. Try experimenting with different coloured and shaped flora to suit your decor and the occasion.

2 Birch-bark covered candles
Put away the delicate candlesticks that seemed so ideal for breezy summer evening meals and go more rustic with a collection of simple square candles with homemade birch-bark coverings. The look is easy to recreate with store-bought square candles and pieces of birch bark trimmed to fit and fastened to the sides of the candles with glue.

3 Printed pillow
Layer textures by creating an autumnal pillow using an easy transfer-printing technique. Use a luxurious gold-coloured silk as a base and decorate with a print of Queen Anne's Lace using complimentary coloured fabric paint.

4 Botanical artwork
Find one perfectly shaped, perfectly coloured leaf, and you’re on the way to creating your own botanical artwork. Pin the leaf inside a shadow-box frame and add a note documenting when and where you found it.

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