How to Make a DIY Autumn Leaf Wood Centerpiece

I got a little further with my autumn decorating this weekend.  I was inspired by the temperatures dropping just a tad-just enough to make me actually believe it’s fall now!  I wanted to create a very simple rustic centerpiece for my fall table so I made this super easy wood leaf centerpiece! Supplies White Wood panel-mine was 4′ by 16″ and cost $13 (I have plenty left over!) PreStain Wood Conditioner Wood Stain Jigsaw Sanding block To start I went online (of course) and found a leaf shape that I thought would be a good fit for my centerpiece.  Here is the one I decided on (sorry for the funky computer screen lines!) Using the image as my guideline I sketched a rough leaf shape on my wood panel in pencil, adjusting until i was happy with the size and shape.  I tried to adjust my shape to avoid hard changes in direction because I knew that I’d be using my jigsaw to cut it out. This was my first time using a jigsaw in a few years but you’ll definitely be seeing it in my projects more coming up-I forgot how fun they are! After I cut the leaf shape out I used a medium grit sanding block to smooth any rough edges.  I bought a pre-sanded panel so it was smooth already on the surfaces. At this point in the process I was on the fence about whether to make this a cutting board or stain it.  I like darker wood and have an overflowing amount of cutting boards so I went ahead and decided to stain it.  I conditioned the wood with Minwax PreStain-just rub it on with a cloth or paint brush, wipe off the excess and let it dry for 2 hours. Once the 2 hours are up you can go ahead and stain.  I decided on a golden oak stain and used 2 coats 2 hours apart. My stain had polyurethane included so I did not put an additional finish on the wood leaf. If your stain does not include poly you may wish to add a a coat or two to get that shine. When my stain was dry I flipped the piece over and added some felt pads.  We have laminate on our first floor and always keep a ton of these suckers on hand to ensure our furniture doesn’t scratch the floors! It might be a good idea to put these on BEFORE you stain as you can see the stain made a bit of the paper I had protecting my work station stick to the wood-boo! And voila! Add some pumpkins, a lantern and pretty flowers and we’ve got a vignette baby! So now that it’s officially fall do you have your decor out? I’m ready to decorate the front porch-it might just happen this week!

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