At first glance, these decorations with leaves seem designed specifically for Halloween but in reality their construction technique is very ancient. The leaves of fleshy plants, such as magnolia and gardenia, are processed to make them very thin, colorful and almost transparent.
He is about to end up run over, his mother saves him
At first glance these decorations with leaves they seem meant specifically for Halloween but in reality their manufacturing technique is very old. The leaves of fleshy plants, such as magnolia and gardenia, are processed to make them very thin, colorful and almost transparent.
The art of creating "Skeletons of leaves" it would even date back to a few centuries ago, with reference to the period of the Ming dynasty in China. We then have available The Phantom Bouquet, a work of 1863 dedicated to the creation of these particular decorations with leaves.
The decorations with the leaves obtained in this way are very subtle and delicate. They must be handled with care and left to dry very well. You can color them using natural or food dyes. Achieving a good result can take a lot of patience and a few attempts.
It's an original idea for use freshly fallen leaves creatively or the leaves of plant pruning.
To make these decorations with leaves you will need them:
- ½ cup (120 grams) of soda ash (i.e. laundry soda, not caustic soda)
- Leaves, preferably with a shiny surface such as magnolia or gardenia
- A pot or pan
- A spatula
- A toothbrush
- Tweezers
- Waterproof gloves
- Water
1) Arrange the leaves in a large pot or pan together with the sodium carbonate. Pour in enough water to completely cover them. Bring to a boil e let it simmer 90 minutes to 2 hours. If necessary, add water so that the leaves do not dry out.
3) Check the appearance of the leaves gradually to decide when it will be time to remove them from the water using tweezers or a spatula. Always wear gloves to handle the leaves from now on.
4) Take each leaf from the stem with tweezers and with a soft brush gently brush and remove the fleshy part of each of them from both sides. If you want to color the leaves, soak them for a few minutes in colored water (to which you have added food coloring).
5) Finally arrange the leaves between two napkins or cloth sheets for dry and flatten them.
THU the complete tutorial with pictures to follow.
Look at the video to learn how to make these unusual leaf decorations.
You can use the leaves thus obtained to create decorations with the decoupage technique, as in this video.
Marta Albè
Photo font: Skeleton Leaf
Read also:
How to reuse fallen leaves in the fall
How to make a rose bouquet with dried leaves
Halloween: 10 DIY pumpkin decorations
