2 Ways to Make Artwork with Dried Leaves
In today’s post, we’ll show you how to undertake a popular DIY project: making your own artwork with dried leaves. With these beautiful pieces, you can decorate any room in your home easily, economically and with originality. The best part is that each piece that you create will be one-of-a-kind – there’ll never be another one like it.
Below, we’ll give you some pointers on two different techniques for making dried leaf artwork. As you’ll see, they’re both very simple, your children could even give you a hand. Don’t wait any longer– go outside and look for leaves to dry and make into something beautiful.
How can you dry out your leaves?
If you’re thinking about making a piece of art with dried leaves, you first need to get your leaves— already dried or not. Fall is the best time to start collecting leaves because they start to fall and show a wider range of color in this season. To collect lots of leaves in different colors and shapes, you just need to go to the park or take a walk in an area with plenty of trees. Besides, it’s a great activity to do with the kids during Fall, you can look through more ideas here.
Once you’ve collected your leaves, spread them out on top of a sheet of newspaper. Next layer another sheet on top of the leaves. Repeat the process until you’ve laid out all of your leaves. Then you’ll have completed the first step for this DIY project.
Carefully place a heavy object on top of the leaves to keep them in place. For example, you could use an encyclopedia or a box as a weight. Remember to use something that you don’t use frequently, or else you’ll be picking it up and putting it back down constantly, not allowing the leaves to dry out properly.
As for how long the leaves take to dry out, it’s hard to know exactly. The best thing to do is to just check every two or three days. There are various factors that could affect the drying time: the size and thickness of the leaves, the weight that you choose to put on top, and the room temperature.
1. Glittery dried leaf art
Our first idea for dried leaf art is a glittery masterpiece that could go well in any room.
First, choose the leaves that you want to use. Using a paintbrush, apply some liquid glue onto the leaves. Be careful while applying this as the leaves are fragile and can break easily. After the glue dries a little, sprinkle on the glitter. Let it dry and give it a layer of spray varnish to keep the glitter in place.
Once you’ve finished your leaves, they’ll be ready for two different kinds of dried leaf art projects:
- Glue the leaves onto a canvas and leave them uncovered, creating a 3D-effect. You’ll end up with a beautiful picture, but remember that it’ll easily collect dust and won’t keep very well.
- Framing the leaf art, keeping it behind a glass cover, will keep protect it. If you decide to frame your project, use thin leaves that’ll fit under the glass cover without crinkling. Using a frame will help your project last much longer.
2. Leaf composition
Our second idea is actually a set of pictures that create a single, original composition that’ll impress everyone.
Pick out leaves of different colors, sizes and shapes. The more different they are, the more original the result will be. The best part about this composition is that you can make it as big as you want it to be and personalize it for your home entrance, living room, or whichever room you want.
Buy canvases, all in different shapes and sizes, where the leaves will fit perfectly. There should only be a small margin of space around the leaves, so don’t choose canvases that are too big.
Paste one leaf onto each of the canvases and apply a layer a varnish on all of them to make them more durable. If you want to paint a background onto the canvases as well, go for it. However, we recommend using light colors to make sure that the leaves stay as the focus.
These are just two ideas for this project; there are so many more. You could paint and position the leaves, create children’s collages or try out countless other ideas. Let your imagination roam free and experiment with leaf paintings while creating a fun, original decor for your home at the same time.