This is my second blog post using pieces from nature, it was very experimental and fun, and I hope you will enjoy it.
I collected a bunch of dry gum leaves during the summer months (which are everywhere in Australia, but this project could work equally well on pretty much any type of leaf). This is what they looked like when I collected them:
I liked the natural colours and wanted to preserve them, so I coated them on both sides with Artisan ‘Flat Matte Sealer’ which is a water-based, clear coat. You can use any water-based clear varnish for this purpose. It gives the leaves a nice, clean, sealed surface to adhere to, and also protects them from drying out and breaking.
Of course, I just had to use the ‘Gumnuts and Grevilleas’ transfer (Australian Wildflowers III) from the Aussie Decor Transfers range. I used the black transfer tool to rub them onto the surface, once the sealer had completely dried.
Once I had applied the transfers, I sealed them again to make them super durable.
I had an idea to make them into a hanging mobile but needed really thin twine to hang them from. I ended up using some threads pulled from the edge of a piece of hessian, but you could use sewing cotton, fishing string or anything thin enough.
Tying on the strings takes a bit of patience!
Next, I tied them onto a medium-sized twig. I feel like this process would have been a lot quicker without my ‘helper’!
Here are a few photos of the final result. What do you think? It was a bit of fun and a really inexpensive way to make some unique wall art.
I hope you’ve enjoyed my projects and that I’ve given you some ideas for using the beautiful Aussie Décor Transfers for your own crafts. Thanks for reading.
You can find the Gumnuts & Grevilleas transfer on the Aussie Decor Transfers website – use code SARAH22 for a 5% discount.