Monday - In the Studio

I had every intention of being accountable today and working on my crows, which have been neglected these past couple of weeks.  But alas, I was working on some mail art and got distracted by this fun project;  I thought you might enjoy it as well.

I just can't say enough times, autumn is my very favorite season.  Spring is lovely, especially after winter; I love the bounty of the summer garden, but autumn is magic.  It's the season that I feel in my blood and my bones.  And Hallowe'en???  I can't even begin to tell you how much I like that!  One of my favorite ways to celebrate autumn is through autumn themed arts and crafts.

This is a project that I think would be lots of fun with kids.  I wish I had some kids around here to play with.  My first leaf, the one that got me excited about this, I did on tissue paper.  I save tissue paper from every tissue wrapped purchase or present.  The next try, I decided to use a variety of papers.  On the bottom left is everyday tissue paper; on the right is a waxy tissue that came in a recent Anthropology purchase.  Then at the top is a vintage book page.  So the first thing you do is trace or draw a leaf on the paper.  Make sure your outlines are dark so you can see them after you've painted.

Next step is paint around the outer edges with yellow.  I used Adirondack Alcohol ink and Piñata brand ink.  You could also use watercolors if you were working with small children who are apt to paint the walls and such.  I like the alcohol inks because of the brilliance of the colors.  Then paint inside the yellow with orange.  I tried different techniques; with the waxy tissue paper, I sprayed it first with alcohol to help the ink bleed better.  The other two I painted then sprayed.  The plain tissue paper is best for ink flow, or bleeding.

Finally, I put red in the center.  Then I sprayed them all with alcohol.  At this point, you can go do something else while it dries, or if you are very impatient like me, then pull out the heat gun or hair dryer.  That alcohol dries fast!  I guess you might want to be careful not to start it on fire.  That would be bad - especially if there are children present!

After the ink is dry, go back and draw in the veins and darken any edges that might help you see to cut it out.  I used Walnut ink on the two on the left.  On the waxy paper, this ink just sat on top, so I used the alcohol ink.  Next, I cut them out.  I used a pair of tiny manicure scissors to get at all of those nooks and crannies.

I'm using mine for collage, but if you wanted to make them a little more stable for hanging in a window, you could coat them with a thin layer of beeswax.  Think how pretty that would be to have a bunch of these leaves hanging in the window, fluttering in the breeze.

Let me know if you try this, and leave links to your projects if you have pictures:)

Have a great day!  Can you believe it's Monday again?