How to Make Simple Yet Decorative Autumn Leaves
...for your Classroom Project, Harvest Festival, or Window Display.
I live in the desert now and I love it! The 300+ days of sun afford me a necessary break from my annually anticipated midwestern "Seasonal Affective Disorder." But, I have to admit, I miss the colors of the Fall leaves back in Ohio. So, every year, I find myself "magically" in the throes of a volunteer project with my children's schools, making harvest festival signs incorporating colorful leaves. Leaves are so easy and fun, especially if you know exactly how...
1) Gather your supplies:
- Tube acrylics (Liquitex) in Cadmium Red, Cadmium Yellow, Burnt Sienna, Mars Black.
- Minwax Polycrylic if you want these to last for the next season (or laminate for more durability).
- 3" wide chip brushes, No. 12 Acrylic brush, smaller brushes for mixing
- White Cardboard
- Margarine or Large Yogurt containers
- Water
- Good working surface (drop cloth on table or garage floor works well)
- Xacto Knife or Scissors
- Pencil
2) Decide your leaf scale (my examples are approximately 24" x 24"). Then, sketch out your leaf. Interesting Oak or Maple leaves are hard to find in the desert so here is some good clip art: http://www.kidsturncentral.com/holidays/clipart/fallclipart.htm
3) Cut out your leaf out of white card board using your Xacto blade or scissors.
 |
| Great Volunteer Mom (Julie) shown here for this year's Harvest Festival! |
4) Mix in 4 small containers: 4 separate colors (Burnt Sienna, Cadmium Red, Cadmium Yellow, and Mars Black) color straight out of the tube with a splash of water and a splash of polycrylic (about 1/2 pigment color, 1/4 water, 1/4 polycrylic), making it the consistency of shampoo.
 |
| Burnt Sienna shown here. |
5) With your large, wide chip brush, paint from the centerpoint out to edges. Think of how a leaf looks and then make strokes with the side of your brush to mimic veins. Let dry (Cadmium Red shown below).
 |
| More great volunteers at work, painting from center vein point out. |
6) Highlight your leaf with another color in random places, just as you'd see in nature. Let dry.
7) Use your No. 12 acrylic brush and Mars Black outline your leaf loosely and paint in some lines for veins.
8) Let dry. For more durability, you can laminate but it's not necessary. However, the colors will pop more with the glossy finish. Showcase your work for your next Fall event and wait for the "oohs and ahhs"! You rock!
 |
| Leaves enhancing the "Toss" Harvest game. |
 |
| Bring more color and continuity to your event, as shown here. |
posted by Passion 4 Murals @ 5:45 AM
0 Comments
