Leaf printing is a great low-cost way to craft an easy artwork to sit front and centre in your home. Juliet Love has an ingenious way to print using leaves and pages of an old book. Who wouldn’t want this cute artwork hanging in their house?
Gather your supplies
- Artist paper
- 2.4 metres 18 x 6mm half round dowel
- Screen printing ink
- Ink gel pad
- Ink pad rollers
- Cotton twine
You’ll also need
- Book
- Double-sided tape
- Scissors
- A selection of leaves
- Small paintbrush
- Tape measure
- Pencil
- Hacksaw
- Clamps
- Drill and 2mm drill bit
- Sandpaper
- PVA glue
Step 1
Choose nine pages from an old book. Attach 1cm strips of double-sided tape to each corner of the page’s back (but don’t remove tape backing yet).
Step 2
With a paintbrush, apply an even layer of ink onto the ink gel pad. Place a leaf, face down, on the pad. Use the roller to gently roll over the back of the leaf to press it onto the ink.
Step 3
Peel off the leaf and lay ink-side up on scrap paper. Place a book page, face down, on the leaf.
Step 4
Use a clean, dry roller to roll over the page to stamp the leaf. Carefully remove the page to see your creation. Repeat these steps for the other pages
Step 5
Measure and mark two lengths of dowel to your required length with a tape measure and pencil. Cut dowel with a hacksaw.
Step 6
Clamp one length of dowel to the workbench, then measure 10 and 11cm from both ends. Drill two holes through the marked lines on both ends. Sand drill holes and sawn edges with sandpaper.
Step 7
Thread string through the holes on the dowel and tie a double knot on the underside to act as a stopper when hung. Repeat at the other end to complete the hanger.
Step 8
Apply a bead of PVA glue to the top of the artist paper. Attach the dowel with string to the glue line and press down. Repeat at the other end with the remaining piece of dowel. Allow glue to dry.
Step 9
Arrange the stamped pages on the artist paper so they’re equally spaced. Mark the pages’ corner positions with a pencil. Take the backing off the double-sided tape and attach pages in their marked positions.
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