Decorate home for the holidays

Make leaf art with your kids or use fall leaves to decorate your home for the holidays.

 There are so many different types of leaves and colors to choose from that you can create unlimited combinations!

•    For longer-lasting painted leaves, look for some dry leaves on the ground. Look for a variety of huge leaves so that you have more room to paint on them. Also, look for newly fallen leaves on the ground around tree bases.

To flatten dry leaves before painting them, place them overnight under a hefty book or other heavy flat objects.

• Pick some fresh leaves if you can’t find any on the ground. Remember that after a few days, young leaves will begin to wilt and dry. Keep an eye out for large leaves, such as maple leaves.

If you wish to harvest leaves from someone else’s land, ask permission first to decorate your home for the holidays

• Place the leaves face-up on a level work surface on some newspaper. To protect your work surface, lay down old newspapers or other junk material. Choose a handful of the leaves to begin painting and lay them in front of you on the protected surface.

Make sure there is enough space between the leaves and the newspaper edges to avoid getting paint outside of the protected area.

• Paint the leaves with acrylic paint to create solid-color motifs. On a paper plate, squeeze out little amounts of the acrylic paint colors you want to use. Paint any designs you want on the leaves with a little paintbrush.

Experiment with different color combinations to decorate your home for the holidays

 

• If you want to doodle rather than paint with a brush, use chalk crayons. Regular chalk crayons or liquid chalk markers are both good options. Make any patterns or designs you think would look good on the leaves.

To make elaborate designs on your leaves, draw repeated patterns.

• If you just want to utilize one color, spray paint the leaves. Place your leaves on a newspaper outside or in a well-ventilated place to dry. Hold the spray paint can 6 inches (15 cm) away from the leaf you wish to paint and press the cap down to spray the paint on.

To make unique decorations, spray paint tiny branches with the leaves still attached. Use gold or silver spray paint and let dry.

•  Gather a variety of fresh leaves in all shapes and sizes. Fresh leaves are better for prints than dry leaves because they don’t shatter as easily when pressed. Make sure it’s legal to harvest leaves from the trees or plants you come across. 

Large leaves, such as maple leaves, are ideal for making prints to decorate the home for the holidays

• If you’re not sure what a plant is and want to collect leaves from it, use your phone to check photographs of it to identify it and make sure it’s safe to touch.

Prepare your leaves and paints by laying newspapers on a flat work surface. On a paper plate, squeeze out a variety of acrylic paint hues. However, place the leaves on the table with the backs facing up. Leave space between the edges of the newspapers and the leaves to avoid getting paint on the sections of your work surface that aren’t protected.