Sunday, February 22, 2009

Leaf Stamping

This project can be used to make place mats, greeting cards, place cards, and other paper-based projects. They make a wonderful Fall project.
Materials:• 3 or more leaves that have not yet fallen from your trees• One heavy, thick book• Construction paper, any color• Hot glue• Paint brush• Acrylic paint in yellow, tan, orange, and red(and any colors you like)• White paper or construction paper
Directions:
1. The best leaves for this project are still attached to the tree. Find leaves that are turning colors but aren’t completely dried out. If the leaf cracks when you fold it, it is too dry. You need one leaf for each color you will paint.2. Press the leaves in the pages of a heavy book. Leave overnight. This will teach your little ones about “delayed gratification”. They can also go take a peek to see how they look as they press.3. Remove leaves from the book. Look at the underside of the leaf. Brush off any debris, pollen or dust that may have gathered there. it’s fun to use a small, dry paint brush for this.4. Fold a piece of construction paper in half.5. “Mom job” Hot glue the front side of the leaf to the construction paper so that the underside is facing up. The underside has the veins and lines of the leaf, the front side is smooth.6. Using a paint brush, paint the underside of the leaf with a generous amount of paint. Be careful to paint only the leaf and not the construction paper it is glued to. (If your toddlers and pre-k kids gets it on the paper, nothing terrible will happen!)7. Using the leaf as a stamp, press it down carefully onto the white paper. Hold it in place and gently rub the construction paper so that all areas hit the white paper. **It’s a good idea to do a few practice stamps on scrap paper to get the feel for the amount of paint you’ll need.8. Carefully remove the stamp and repeat this process with your other leaves and colors.9. Allow to dry completely.

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