Wednesday Item Feature: Color without crunch

Fall is just around the corner, but the bay area lacks something I experienced for four years in the midwest during my college days: autumn leaves. The bay area has three seasons — spring, summer, and winter — with a long transition between summer and winter (San Francisco really only has two seasons: hot and cold). Leaves turn brown, fall to the ground, and disintegrate in the wind and under passing shoes. Experiencing a "real" autumn is beautiful and inspirational: the golden rays of the sun adding depth to the warm hues of the yellow, orange, and red leaves with specks of green left in some of them lightly falling to the ground and then sweeping them up in big heaps that you can actually jump in with a slight crunch but without destroying the leaves into fragile crumbs of nature. That's where Dawn (also known asDawnKathrynStudio on Etsy) comes in with her felt fall leaves.

Measuring between 3 to 4 1/2 inches, these cleanly cut leaves will last you all year long if you really love autumn or even just earth tones. Autumn is a season with rich color palettes, and Dawn's set of leaves is no exception. With 12 leaves crafted from eco-friendly felt, you can choose to hang them all on a string or individually around a room or even save them for Christmastime and use them as ornaments for your pine (or plastic) tree! You could also find a bunch of branches, stick them in a pot full of glass beads and hang these pretty felt leaves on the branches and place in the corner of a room or on a coffee table as a center piece. A lot can be done with these leaves, and while you can't rake them into a pile and jump carelessly into it, they'll still give life wherever and however they're used to decorate your surroundings.

With felted greens, golden yellows, rich reds, and browns like milk chocolate, Dawn's leaves are definitely little pieces of happiness to have around the house. These shapely imitations of nature have been stitched up to remind you to open up a window or take a step outside and take in a deep breath of fresh air. Hang them in your window or in your doorways and enjoy a few leaves in your life without them wilting or crumbling in your hand. If you like feathers even more, Dawn has a set of joyfully cute felt feathers in her shop as well!

Check out DawnKathrynStudio's listing on Etsy now: Felt Fall Leaves!

Dawn will also be at this Friday's EBAC Craft Show & Sale in Oakland — come and check out her knit and felt creations!

Tune in next week for the Wednesday Item Feature!

Love & donuts,
Mayene