Is it just me or is time just FLYING by these days. Â It seems like just yesterday it was Halloween and now we’re just a week away from Thanksgiving. Â Oye! Â In hopes of squeezing out every last minute of the fall decorations that I love so much, I made this super cute bowl that just screams FALL. Â Maybe because its made solely of LEAVES!!! Â I KNOW… CUTE HUH???
This is a great activity for the kids! Â Here is how you make the DIY leaf bowl
Supplies:Â 
- Leaves (fun for the kids to collect)
- A Balloon
- White Glue or Modpodge
- A sponge paint brush
- Scissors
Directions:
- Blow up the balloon.
- If needed, use the scissors to cut the leaves off any branches that you’ve collected.
- Mix equal part water and glue in a bowl or use Mod Podge solution.
- Using the sponge paint brush, apply the glue solution to the balloon.
- Then add each leave and liberally apply the glue on top of the leaf to hold it down. Â
- Continue around the bottom of the balloon till you have the whole bottom covered.
- Let it dry for 24-48 hours. Â Pop the balloon and Vioala – You have yourself a great leaf bowl. Â
Happy Fall!!!
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66 comments
did you use real leaves or plastic ones
Hi Angela, I used real leaves that come on branches in the floral department of the grocery store.
Silk leaves works as well
Yes! They work great!
What a cute idea. I think all our leaves are yellow and brown now, but definitely something to make next year… or with fake leaves.
I’ve never seen anything like this! Think you could use fresh leaves for this? Pinned to my autumn awesomeness board! Thanks for sharing at the Foodies and Crafties Blog Hop and Link Party!
I love your Leaf Bowl, it is so amazing!
Thanks for sharing at Foodies & Crafties Soirée, I am featuring you tomorrow!!
Gosia | Kiddie Foodies
[…] Leaf Bowl {DIY} by Diapers-n-heels […]
What a great collection of leaves, I always thought people used fake ones! How creative!
I’ve done one of these and it turned out great.
[…] Leaf Bowl Tutorial […]
Are there any directions that were assumed, or left out? I tried this exactly as shown and when we popped the balloons after 4-5 days, it imploded and sucked everything up into a ball! I liberally applied the Mod Podge, but it was still very soft and not completely dried out yet. Loved the idea of this, but it was a big flop at our house!
Oh no, it sounds like it hadn’t completely dried. You could use a hair dryer to make sure its fully dried before popping the balloon. You definitely have to make sure its completely dried. You could try glue and water rather than mod podge too. It might help in the drying process. I’m sorry it didn’t work out.
How do you get it flat on the bottom so it will stand because the bottom is round. Mine won’t stand up. Rolls over to the side.
Mine was quite pliable and was easily sat flat. Is there any way to push it in at this point?
How did you make the bottom flat?
With all the glue/mod podge that is used, when they dry, the whole thing becomes quiet pliable. The bottom easily flattens too!
Makes sense. Thank you!!
Your leaf bowl is absolutely beautiful! Thank you so much for sharing your brilliant idea. ^^
Thank you @Kate!
Thanks for sharing such a great tutorial! We love this bowl and have shared over on our blog (with a link back to you) x
http://buttonsandpaint.blogspot.co.uk/2014/11/leaf-bowl.html
[…] madewithhappy.com / Via madewithhappy.com […]
How fragile is this bowl, can you put something in it (for example fruits) or better not?
Its pretty sturdy. Maybe not fruit, but keys or smaller items for sure.
This is absolutely darling! I think it would be fun to do a Christmas version too!
this is a perfect fall diy! so making a few of these for the house!! thank you for sharing!
When I was scrolling thru the links in the TUT linky, your bowl literally jumped out at me! So precious! And EASY!! my favorite!
Thanks for the idea.
That’s a really neat idea! Thanks for joining the Thursday Favorite Things Blog Hop!
This is absolutely adorable!! I love it! I would love if you stopped by my place and Joined My 2 Favorite Things on Thursday Link Party going on now till Monday!! I’d Love to have you!
Super cute! Pinned and tweeted.
What a great idea 🙂
That is very clever – love this idea! Pinned to my Fall Board to share and inspiration for my Thanksgiving table.
[…] from Laura’s Little House Tips chose Leaf Bowl {DIY} from Made with Happy. “I loved this and how fun it will look when decorating for Fall. I love […]
[…] from Laura’s Little House Tips chose Leaf Bowl {DIY} from Made with Happy. “I loved this and how fun it will look when decorating for Fall. I love […]
[…] from Laura’s Little House Tips chose Leaf Bowl {DIY} from Made with Happy. “I loved this and how fun it will look when decorating for Fall. I love […]
What a great idea!!
[…] crowns already, so I trawled Pinterest for something else and came across this lovely idea from Made With Happy. Click through for full instructions, but, basically, all you need is a balloon, glue and the […]
Do the leaves become brittle or will it save year to year? Regardless it’s lovely and we will make. Perfect timing for us in NE
Did the leaves ever get dried out or gross? Or was the glue / modpodge enough to seal them so they didn’t change?
I LOVE this! We have some pretty spectacular leaves here in Washington. I am currently preserving the leaves I want to use in glycerin. Once the dry, they’ll be pliable. I plan on following your directions, if I’m happy with the results, I plan on coating in a food safe resin inside and out. I want it to last forever, not just a season. They’ll make awesome serving bowls for Thanksgiving!
Does the balloon come out easily? Doesn’t it stick to the leaves?
The balloon came out pretty easy. Just remember to let the leaves dry completely.
Those of you who want more bowl shaped one’s you could just put cling film over a bowl and glue the leaves on top the film? Once dry lift the cling film from the bowl and them remove the cling film from the leaves (if the film doesn’t come off easily just apply some more leaves on it to hide the film). I did that as a project about 20 years ago when I was 4 and I remember making it to this day. Brilliant activity 🙂
I was so excited to try this with our preschool playgroup, it looked like a simple, beautiful project- but it was a pretty big fail for us. It was too hard for them to paint the bottom of the balloon with the Modge Podge by themselves (next time I would place the balloon in small bowls to hold them first). Then our leaves would not mold correctly to the balloon. I think this craft is more suited to a parent and child than a group of children- at least for 4-5 year olds. Most of them needed tons of help, then just got frustrated and quit. A few kids ended up switching to tissue paper instead of the leaves, so they were at least able to have a finished product.
Oh no, yeah, I could see where littles would get frustrated. I love the idea of tissue paper!
I tried this with both died leaves and also with fresh leaves- it didnt work with either. We also resorted to tissue paper.
Fail here too. Perhaps English PVA glue is not the same as your whiteglue? We also used leaves that were much bigger.
I have followed the directions to a T nothing I use water down modge podge nothing will stick the leaves to the balloon I have even watch the balloon three times the leaves won’t stick to the balloon why
I’m not sure why it doesn’t stick. I did gob it on there and let it completely dry.
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[…] https://www.madewithhappy.com/diy-leaf-bowl/ […]
[…] DIY Leaf Bowl from Made with Happy… […]
I tried this today. I cannot get the leaves to stick at all. They just slide right off. I put the balloon in a pitcher to hold it and I’m letting 3 leaves dry on the balloon to see if I can do it in batches. But any tips would be great! I’m using modpodge and I bought fake leaves.
Hi Katharine. Maybe try and add some cornstarch to the Mod Podge to make it thicker? I would load up on the Mod Podge to make them stick. Hope it helps.
[…] from Laura’s Little House Tips chose Leaf Bowl {DIY} from Made with Happy. “I loved this and how fun it will look when decorating for Fall. I love […]
Hi there, I am surprised that the balloon does not stick to the leaves, with all that glue?
Don’t the leaves turn brown? I might do this with paper scraps, instead.
If there is enough mod podge glue mixture, they do not turn brown. Paper scraps would work or fake leaves.
did you use glue or mod podge and is it school glue and is it equal parts water to glue thanks
I used half school white glue, and half water and a good amount of it. The key is to make sure it dries completely.
How could you do without the balloon?
using the bottom of a plastic bowl could work too.
I did this I used real leaves that the kids gathered and school glue mixed with water but used a bowl instead of a balloon it turned out pretty good I think
Someone suggested putting vasoline on the balloon before putting the glue, will this help or hurt?
I am sorry for the slow response. My initial thought would be that it would help with the balloon sticking, but now that I think about it, it would hinder the drying out of the glue.
Hello! I have three questions, and I’m sorry if they were already asked and answered. Should the leaves be wet or dry, or does it really matter since they’ll be dipped in glue? I’m thinking of making this for a bread basket for thanksgiving dinner. Will it support lightweight stuff inside? And finally you said its really pliable afterwards. Would putting a bunch of layers of leaves and/Or a few extra layers of mod podge after the balloon is out make it more sturdy? How can we make the bowls more keepsake like? Thank you for sharing! I love this idea and plan on making a few with my 18 year old for a fall craft before all the leaves turn brown.