I've been looking for an inexpensive, simple way to dress up my dining room table to celebrate the height of the fall holiday season — and I came up with this leaf centerpiece which cost me under $5. Even better? My kids were able to help, and the process went really quickly … they also managed to get really messy, which is always a bonus in their book!
Materials
• shaving cream (I used a can of foamy barbasol, about $1)
• shallow pan
• acrylic craft paint (I used a few fall colors, $0.59 each)
• stick for swirling
• watercolor paper
• scraper — piece of cardboard, spatula, etc.
• branches for display
• scissors and pencil
• hot glue
Instructions
1. Squirt out your shaving cream into a shallow pan.
2. Spread it out, and squirt out some paint on top.
3. Use your stick to swirl the paint and make a pattern.
4. Put a piece of watercolor paper right on top and press lightly.
5. Pull your paper up carefully — it's gonna look like a big mess!
6. Use your scraper to scrape off the shaving cream, and like magic, your design will stay on the paper!
7. Let paper dry completely, and marble the reverse side as well, if desired.
8. Trace a leaf onto a page and cut out — repeat!
9. Glue leaves to your branches, and enjoy!
(Images: Sarah Dobbins)
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Cute! But it looks like you have a lot of real leaves floating around your house. I'm sure you could pick up a few pretty ones for this project, rather than using all those materials. It's also a good opportunity to get your kids outside for some fresh air while they search for nice looking leaves!
@Carrotsticks
Real leaves turn brown and disintegrate. Would be a bummer if you use them as your Thanksgiving centerpiece and they end up in your gravy.
I love this. Finally a project even I could handle!
An interesting technique, good to know about for other projects maybe, but I'm with carrotsticks, go out and gather some real leaves. They're gorgeous.
@HHRI,
It's not like leaves vapourize and become dust before your very eyes. In fact, they would stay like that for quite some time. And, if you wanted to preserve them for longer you can press them in a book for about a week or so, and they'll be ready just in time to grace your American Thanksgiving table with little worry about contaminating your gravy.
This is a really cute idea. I'm sure my kids (5 and 2 year old girls) would love to help make something like this.I've always liked marbling but this is a much simpler (and more kid friendly!) way to get pretty much the same result.
I've been collecting and pressing beautiful leaves as I find them with the intention of using them on the table for Thanksgiving but as the previous person commented they may end up crumbled through the food! Marbled paper leaves just may be the way to go :)
Thanks for the idea!
Fun, easy, and pretty--you hit the preschool art project jackpot! For those who, for some reason, feel the need to fixate on the leaf-shaped element at the end, you could also use this technique to make placemats, place cards, wrapping paper, etc., and then you'd still get to use your real leaves for your centerpieces, I guess.
This reminds me a little of a similar technique that involves adding dish detergent to a pan of water with some paint in it; you use a straw to blow bubbles in the soapy liquid, then press a piece of paper to the bubbly surface and get a very pretty marbleized look.