Can we have some leaves...please?

We live in Florida. Sunny, warm, palm-tree filled Florida. And while it is a paradise in its own right, there is one thing missing = FALL LEAVES!!!! A few years ago we finally got to see the changing of the leaves for ourselves while on vacation in Dillsboro, NC and our fall fever just escalated! I often find myself imagining walking through the beautiful little streets of Dillsboro feeling the crisp air and hearing the crunch of the endless fall leaves under my boots. All that's missing is a pumpkin spice latte and its the perfect daydream! So instead of just reminiscing this year we decided to bring the fall leaves to us, and bring them indoors so we could look at them anytime we wanted to!

We started with an unfinished pallet and decided to not make it completely smooth to keep that rustic country charm that goes so well with autumn leaves.

We decided to go with a creamy beige paint as the background so the leaves and tree would really pop. The exact color is a mystery even to us as we picked it out of the paint samples that get left behind at Lowes and find new homes for just 50 cents. Its kind of like a fun mystery bag of paint samples! Keeps things interesting!

Next we used "soul chocolate" from valspar to paint on the tree trunk to which we would attach our leaves.

Then came the leaves!!! We used an extra garland of fall leaves we had and took it apart so it was individual leaves and then took out the staple gun! We stapled each leaf on individually, taking a step back every once in a while to make sure we were getting the right shape.

Although we intended to put the pallet out by the pool, it was just too pretty and we decided its natural home was at the top of the staircase.

Happy Fall Y'all the leaves have arrived!