Heart Leaf Art

Valentine's Day is just a few days away and I just can't stop my brain from working on heart shapes. I've had a whole slew of dried leaves hanging around since last June when I decided to press a bunch from my Forest Pansy Red Bud. At that time, I announced my intention to use them for something Valentine's related. Then, in the Fall, I decided that I wanted to paint some of them. I liked those results, but still wanted to use the natural leaves this season.

I found a $3 red frame last week when I was out shopping with Jellybean (the best shopping buddy ever) and decided that I'd go ahead and frame my collection of leaves. After a bit of arranging and rearranging, this is what I came up with.

Total cost: $3.53 + tax (the $.53 was for the scrapbook paper background). Not so Valentine's specific that I can't keep it up on the mantel all year. Those leaves are so pretty, I'll have to be sure and press more of them this next Summer.

Have a Happy Day!

~MJ

Raking Leaves

We finally got to raking the leaves over the weekend.  Well, I should say that D raked the leaves, the kids played and I took pictures.

10 bags of leaves from just our front yard. Could have been worse I suppose. Still, it was a big job, well done. 

Have a Happy Day!

~MJ

Fall Leaf Ornaments

I decided to get out the polymer clay again (here's what I did with it the first time) and do a little project for Fall. I actually started two projects at the same time, so here's the first one: Fall Leaf Ornaments.

I decided to use these as ornaments for my Thanksgiving tree, but these could just as easily become necklaces, gift tags or (if you leave off the hole for stringing) brooches.

I pulled out my new leaf shaped cookie cutters (mini and regular sized). I wish I had checked to make sure that all of the clay was good. The burgundy clay I'm working above was terribly dry. It really gave my fingers a workout. None of the other packages were as stiff, thank goodness.  It still worked though. I used 4 tongue depressors to control the thickness of the clay while I rolled. Then I used a toothpick to draw in the design and put in the hole for stringing.

I also have some small letter stamps that I put to use.

Once the clay was all cut out and ready, I put them in the oven (per package directions) to harden.

After the leaves cooled, I pulled out some acrylic paint and a paint brush. I painted each shape, allowed it to mostly dry and then took a damp cloth and rubbed off the excess paint from the surface. Then I strung each leaf with some yarn.

I probably will need to make a few more leaves to fill out the tree, but these four definitely add some personality to the branches.   Next week I'll show you what I was doing with the larger leaves.

Have a Happy Day and a Great Weekend, too.

~MJ

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Painted Leaves

I guess I'm continuing on the leaf theme for the week. I posted a while ago about pressing leaves from my Forest Pansy Red Bud tree. That tree has such beautifully shaped leaves, it was difficult to resist.
Now that the weather is cooling, I've been able to snatch up a few leaves that have begun changing color. So, of course, I pressed those as well. I have some more "valentiney" plans for some of the heart-shaped leaves, but since I love the look of pressed leaves around the house in the Fall, I thought I'd do something different with a couple of them.

I had some paint around the house and some fine paint brushes, so I spent about five minutes and experimented with leaf painting.

I really thought I was ruining the leaf above, but now I think I like the end result. Most of the time, it's best not to tamper with the beauty of nature.

Some of these leaves were too beautiful to touch. I'm thinking of framing the above collection just as it is for my Fall decor. I can't wait to press more of the Fall leaves as they continue to change.

Have a Happy Day!

~MJ

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Fall Hair Clips + New Blog Design

So, I used to run an Etsy shop. *Gasp* It was a fun project for a while and I really enjoyed designing and creating hair clips. I don't have any immediate plans to re-open the shop, but I thought I might start posting some of my creations here along with some tutorials as well.

Last year, I designed some fall hair clips for a friend. I thought they turned out sweet and they were very easy to create.

I used a mini sized Autumn cookie cutter set for the shapes (like this one).  Then, I cut out two layers of felt in each design, added some decorative stitching and then stitched them to some 1.25" snap clips. I like using two layers of felt, so that I can hide my non-pretty stitching. Also, I like the snap clips that have the hole in the tip, so that it's easier to stitch them to the felt.

Easy as pie.  I hope I sparked some inspiration for Fall. 

In other news, I'm pleased to present my new blog design courtesy of Tasha @ My Cute Lobster Designs. I found her through Etsy and have really enjoyed working with her. If you are in the market for a new look, definitely check out her work.

Have a Happy Day!

~MJ

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Changing Seasons

Lately, I've been noticing the slow change of the leaves. The mountainside is changing to fall shades and I've even noticed, here and there, some orange and yellow replacing the green leaves in my back yard. I realized, over the Labor Day weekend, that we are coming up on the one year anniversary of moving into our current home. The year has flown by. As the seasons have changed throughout the last year, I made it a habit to take a photo of the way the trees look from one of our upstairs windows.

Fall and Spring are especially breathtaking.

The view of the trees is so beautiful from there. When I look out, I'm reminded of how quickly the time is passing and I look forward to the beauty that each new season will bring. I'm grateful for the year we've spent in our home and I look forward to the many years ahead of us.

Have a Happy Day!

~MJ

Leaf Pressing In Progress

I constantly have projects in various stages of completeness. I thought for today's post I'd visit one of those projects in progress.
I love leaf pressing.  This may come as no surprise if you happened to catch one of my previous projects inspired by an Orangeola Japanese Maple.

When we moved to our new home I became obsessed with a red bud tree in our backyard.  I posted a beautiful picture of it in the Spring.  It went from this:

To this:

When I posted the photo of the tree in bloom, I thought that it was a Western Redbud.  Once the leaves emerged it turned out to be a Forest Pansy Redbud.  The leaves are a gorgeous purple red and perfectly heart shaped.  How could I not try and save some of these beautiful leaves?
I picked several leaves (there were way too many to choose from) and went ahead and prepped them for pressing. I started by washing the leaves and then drying them on a paper towel.

After that, I took an sharp knife and carefully cut the stem away so that the heart shape would be more apparent. I usually just press the leaves between two sheets of printer paper, but I decided that I'd try slipping them in some cello bags.  I'm thinking that this will make transport and storage a little easier. I hope it was a good idea. (ETA: Putting them in bags was not a good idea. I felt a little dumb when I realized that pressing them this way would just keep the moisture in. Glad I took the leaves out of the bags before it ruined them.)
Pressing is easy after that.  I like to do it old school. I slipped the leaves between the pages of one of my large coffee table books and then added on a lot of weight. Another valuable lesson brought to you from my elementary school education.

So, there they'll stay for now while the Complete Works of Shakespeare works its magic.  I have so many ideas of how to use the leaves once they are fully dry. Simply framed would be beautiful, but can't you see one of those beautiful leaves as the center piece on a Valentine's Day card?  I can.

Now go and find some lovely leaves to press and...

Have a Happy Day!

~MJ

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Easy Art: Pressed Leaves

When we moved into our first house, I planted a teeny, tiny Orangeola Japanese Maple tree. It was just a twig with a few leaves because I couldn't justify the cost of a larger one. I have nurtured that little tree for 7 years and it was just starting to turn into a really beautiful little tree until the top of it was broken off by some careless neighbors during one of their late night parties. So sad!

When I discovered what had happened to my little tree, I was so grateful that I had collected a few leaves from it the week before.

Not only do I love art that brings nature inside, but I'm also sentimental. I knew that we would not live in this home forever and that I wouldn't be taking my sweet tree with me when we moved. So I decided to press the leaves and find a way to display them in my home.

The leaves were so beautiful that I decided to go simple. I picked up a couple of clear acrylic magnetic frames from my local craft store and and wallah, instant art.

These make me smile every time I see them on my shelf.

Have a Happy Day!