Use a wilting bouquet or gather flowers and leaves to make beautiful place mats. Colors eventually fade to browns for a truly elegant look.

You will need:

• Clear Contact Paper
• Flowers and Leaves
• Scissors

1. For each place mat, cut 2 pieces of contact paper approximately 12" x 18". Peel the backing off one piece and lay it sticky side up on the table.

2. Remove blossoms and leaves from their stems and arrange them on the sticky side of the contact paper. Press everything flat with your fingers. Some flowers will work better if you remove the petals and use them individually.

3. Peel the backing off the 2nd piece of contact paper. Place it sticky side down over your arrangement. Do not worry about lining up edges exactly. You will probably get some wrinkles. Just press everything down as flat as possible and your place mat will look beautiful. Trim around all edges with scissors.

Terri Bose is the developer of the family crafts web sites Making Friends.com, and FreeKidsCrafts.com. She is a mother and a stepmother and the author of three children's craft books.