I collected 300 leaves last week, before they got wet and soggy, dry and crispy, or blown into the woodlands. I knew Mother Nature wouldn't mind me borrowing some of them.
The Linden leaf is my absolute favorite and I love its glorious yellow color in autumn.
They are all over our kitchen island right now, sandwiched between newspaper, flattening out under piles of heavy books and magazines, in various stages of drying in preparation for our artful endeavors.
Some are ready to be painted, which is the reason I collect so many. They are a simple shape and very sturdy and take paint and varnish quite well. If varnished, they can last for years!
I put one in an altered board book two years ago!
The children painted some of the Linden leaves as their *Thankful Leaves* and will write what they are thankful for on the back with a fine tip marker. They punched a hole and tied yarn and will hang them on a branch brought inside or on a ribbon or yarn strung across a wall or mantel.
Some leaves have designs.
We use waxed paper or parchment paper when we paint our leaves. It allows us to paint the other side even if the leaf is not fully dry, which can be very important painting with very little children :)
Sometimes the writing of children can be too large for the leaf. In that case, I encourage the children to write on a blank sticker and just stick it onto the back, or on a piece of paper that can be decoupaged on the leaf using diluted glue or mod podge. They could even draw a small picture.
We have a basket of Linden leaves all ready for our next project, to use in decorating the mantel on our stone fireplace for Christmas. We're going to paint the leaves in a multitude of reds and greens and attach them on top of the pine boughs across our mantel, as a garland.
Stay tuned for pictures :)
happy day!
