October gave a party,
The leaves by hundreds came,
The Chestnuts, Oaks and Maples,
And leaves of every name.
The Sunshine spread a carpet,
And everything was grand,
Miss Weather led the dancing,
Professor Wind the band.
--George Cooper
It certainly is a party here today! Not only is it Friday, but it is the day of the year when my mom calls me and says something like this: "As we were driving to the hospital early in the morning, I looked up at the changing colors on the mountains and thought that it was a perfect autumn day to have a baby. And then when you had red hair..."
Yep, today is my birthday! And one of my favorite things to do on my birthday is a project of one kind or another. I also like to eat something lemony, but more on that later.
So I have a project to share that I am working on, but I thought that you might enjoy these projects, too. (I will admit that I probably could have found them on the web, but it was easier to take photos of the magazines from my archives!)
Check out what Martha Stewart does with leaves (taken from her huge volume, Encyclopedia of Crafts);
Using fabric paints, she printed leaves on blank fabric-covered journals. She also used the same technique on canvas bags and pillows. I love the way the leaves aren't perfect - it shows the variations in nature.
Also in the same volume (which if you didn't have a dictionary you could use to press leaves in!) we have this:
Using very thin paper and good quality crayons, you can make leaf rubbings that look like botanical drawings. The key is to press the plants first and use something heavy, like a rock, to hold them in place while you rub the crayon gently over the surface. I think these would be very cool as a background for a layout.
Also, check out this brown bag with stamped leaves from Stampin' Up!
But if you are feeling like a trip to the orchard to pick your own apples (something I have promised my kids we will do soon) you could cut the apples in half and make apple prints on anything and everything. I've seen them framed on canvas, or on tote bags. Wouldn't that make great greeting cards that said, "You are the apple of my eye?"
For my project, I wanted to make something that would reflect my "natural" side, but also use paper (my favorite!) and involve memory-keeping in some form. So here is what I came up with:
I wanted to create something that would remind my family of all the things we are grateful for this time of year, and I love these colors!
So here's how I made my "Attitude of Gratitude" frame:
Step One: I gathered some of my favorite autumn-colored cardstock and grabbed my huge leaf-shaped cookie cutters. I traced the leaves and cut out several more than I thought I would need, so I could play with them.
Step Two: After cutting out several leaves, I used a caramel colored stamp ink and a sponge to darken the edges and "distress" the leaves. This gave them some texture. I found an old 8 x 10 picture frame that we weren't using and some ribbon, pressed leaves, and scraps of wool felt. At this point, I wasn't really sure what this was all going to turn into!
Step Three: I asked my two older kids, Luke (almost 8) and Josie (5) to write some things they were thankful for on a few of the leaves. Happy to see that "Friends and Family" made the list along with "Legos." I added a few of my own phrases to some other leaves ("Our home" and "You").
Step Four: I laid everything out on the floor and started to play with how I wanted my leaves to look. At first I thought they would become a border all the way around the frame, like a wreath, but this looked too fussy. When I was happy with the arrangement, I heated up the glue gun!
Step Five: I started with a base of a few bigger paper leaves, and then started tucking in smaller ones, and the ones with writing on them. To add some texture, I cut simple oblong leaf shapes out of gold and crimson felt using pinking shears, and found some pressed leaves I gathered in my yard a few days ago. It was fun to see my idea taking shape and the frame coming to life!
Step Six: I knew I wanted to put something in my frame, but a photo seemed too busy. So after a few minutes with Photoshop, I came up with the phrase, "May we cultivate and attitude of gratitude." Some good advice. Printed it, framed it up, and was pleased. But it still needed something!
Step Seven: I found some wide ivory ribbon, a bit of copper wire, a few more felt leaves and a chipboard flower, and concocted a picture hanger.
This was a fun project, and I even had enough cut-out leaves left over to make a garland (with the addition of some wooden beads and twine).
I think I will paint some clothespins and hang pictures or additional leaves and "gratitude" phrases on it.
I love a good project! Now, it being a day of celebration, I will go eat some cake. Maybe this lemon layer cake? Have a fabulous Friday everyone! Meet me here tomorrow, when I will have some more nature tips, tricks and techniques, and I will be wiser because I will be officially one year older! Until then,
