These collected dried leaves are brittle and do not withstand repeated handling or rough treatment. You should keep the leaves in the press until time to mount them on the exhibit board (if that is what you are using). To preserve the beauty of the collection and add strength to the leaves, a clear plastic or acrylic spray finish may be added to them. To do this:
- • Place leaves flat on a piece of newspaper or ‘butcher
paper’.
- • Apply the spray in a thin coat to the leaf surface.
- • Allow leaves to dry completely between coats and before
handling.
- • Turn leaves over and apply a thin coat of acrylic spray to
underside of leaf.
- • Handle sprayed leaves only after they have dried completely.
Either mount your entire collection on an exhibit board or place each leaf on a separate sheet of poster board or art paper (all cut to a size which will hold the largest leaf). Prepare the leaf for mounting by applying several drops of clear-drying glue to the back, place the leaf on the mounting surface and place weight on leaf until dry. Add an attractive label to each leaf and you are done! In the very least you should have included both the common tree name and the scientific name to each specimen (ex: Sweetgum or Liquidambar styraciflua).
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