Fall is all about decorating and preparing for the holidays. The leaves, the colors, the tastes; they all lend to gatherings, and sharing food and drinks with friends and family. As much as I like to decorate, I won’t lie, I tend to do more fall DIY projects because…well, it’s cold! Don’t get me wrong, I’m out enjoying the leaves and smells of the season every chance I can get, but this project is a fun and festive craft that you can make on those chilly days you’d rather enjoy from indoors.
There’s nothing more beautiful than the fallen leaves. Why not preserve some of that beauty? So, have some fun and create something that all your holiday guests will be envious of!
This DIY project was adapted from:
http://cassiestephens.blogspot.com/2012/03/leaf-relief.html
What You Will Need:
- Leaves, go outside and gather your favorites!
- Aluminum Foil
- Spray Adhesive
- Inexpensive Matte Black (or your choice of color) Spray Paint
- Grade Zero Soft Steel Wool
- Surface to Mount on…Wood, Cardboard, Stretched Canvas etc…
How to Assemble:
- Spray adhesive to your mounting surface and the front of the leaves
- Gently press the leaves to the surface, vein side up
- Spray another coat of adhesive to the surface, over the leaves
- Place Aluminum Foil on top of the leaves, with the shiny side up
- With fingers rub over the leaves to reveal the leaf textures and textures of the mounting surface
- Spray an even coat of the spray paint on top of the foil…let dry
- With soft steel wool, VERY GENTLY rub the surface of the foil…until you get the desired amount of silver shinning through
- If you accidentally rip the foil, spray a little more paint or color in with a marker
***Here are some more fun Fall Leaf Crafts!
We hope you enjoy this craft as much as we do. If you decide to create either of this craft or any of the craft projects that we shared with you, please feel free to share your finished product!
Snap a picture and share it on our Facebook page! Have a craft idea you’d love to share? We’d love to mingle with you on Pinterest!
Kira
Tuesday 10th of April 2018
Do you have any ideas of what might work besides spray paint for this project? I will be doing this overseas and don't know what my access will be to spray paint and I can't carry it over! Thank you!
Mary Ann
Thursday 6th of April 2017
Hi Trudy! I loved your technique with the foil and leaves. I teach several art classes on different techniques. I showed the foil leaf project that I made to my students and they all want me to teach them how to do it. All my students are seniors that live in retirement homes and also the local senior center. I think this will be a perfect project for them. I put my leaves onto matte board, they are a 5x7 size. I then found some neat antique looking silver frames at the 99 cent store. Yes they are plastic but they look like metal. They are silver antiqued in black like the foil art. The frame makes it a work of art to hang on the wall.
Trudy Staalman
Monday 7th of March 2016
Wow, I know my husband will be excited about this one. He has gotten into picking up leaves as he goes for his walks. The variety and the differences are staggering. This is a lovely way to keep them! Trudy
Jamie
Monday 7th of March 2016
Hi, Trudy! I hope your husband enjoys this. I'd love to see what he comes up with!
Deirdre
Thursday 3rd of March 2016
Oh!!! I just wanted to let you know, I did make one of these and it is FABULOUS!! No lie! I have it on my wall and I know a lot of people are doing this with just the kids. Me? I did it for myself for my wall!! It looks wonderful and reminds me of a great fall walk, picking up the beautiful leaves as we walked along! Thank you for this GREAT idea! :)
Jamie
Saturday 5th of March 2016
Yay! So glad you had fun with the craft, Deirdre! Thanks for leaving your feedback! -Jamie
Heather
Saturday 14th of November 2015
My 4th grade class did this (with india ink) in 1970! Great to see this technique revived!