The Little Crafty Thing

By Editor | October 20, 2022

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Make these elegant leaves in an evening using nature’s patterns from real leaves, window screen, and a little sparkle of paint.

Simply Handmade: 365 easy gifts & decorations you can make, A Meredith Press Publication, 1998

To make the leaves you will need:

Real leaves (oak and maple leaves have wonderful shapes)

Window screen (available by the foot at hardware stores)

Newspaper

Gold spray paint

White typing paper

Permanent black marker

Old scissors

Gold, copper, or bronze paint pen (often used for fabric painting—available at fabric, discount, and craft stores)

Collect your favorite fall leaves. Pick shapes that have some clearly formed edges. Cut the window screen a little larger than the leaf. Lay the screen on some newspaper and spray the screen gold. Let it dry and paint it on the other side. Let the paint dry thoroughly.
Lay the leaf on a piece of white paper and put the painted window screen over the leaf. Draw around the leaf with the permanent marker. Add the veins of the leaf with the marker.
Cut out leaf using old scissors.
Using the paint pen, draw around the leaf and add the veins. Let the paint dry. Bend the leaf slightly to make it look real.

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