Release your inner artist.
I'm going to show you how to create, paint and draw your way to being a smug craftista. Simple crafty How-tos with fun and easy instructions. This time, Painting Autumn leafs. Learn how to paint an autumn leaf in three easy steps. Plus some ideas of what to do with your gorgeous leaf.
Pencil Case Supplies
Watercolour paper A pencil
Browns, deep reds and yellow watercolours
A paintbrush
A brown colouring pencil
Stage 1
This craft needs a side of hot chocolate and a fuck-ton of marshmallows, once you've got those essentials, get yourself a nice little space and lay your paper out on a flat surface. Very lightly draw your leaf shape in pencil*, think fairy finger light, not windmilling in. You don't want the pencil showing through the paint. *I've drawn the shape in ink, so you can see clearly the outline... don't do this unless you want a black outline.
Stage 2
Adding colour. Get yourself a glass of water, a wad of tissue paper (for mistakes), your brush and pull out those rich sepia colours. If you look closely at the leaf below can you see how the paints almost feather into each other? We create that effect by getting damp under the collar. Dampen the whole leaf and then lightly blob different paint colours into various areas, while everything is still fluid pull the paint around with your brush.
Stage 3
Add detail, I went abstract in my detailing, because A I like it and B it's easier. I used soft rounded lines, but you could go for dots, stripes, stars, lettering. Think outside the box or in this case leaf.
There you go, a simple Autumn Leaf in three easy steps.
Here are some ideas for your beautiful creation.
A Book Mark.
Write poetry on the leaf and frame it.
Make a whole bunch and create a wreath.
Or take your bunch and make a Autumn leaf crown for the woodland fairy in your life.
Gift tag.
Turn yourself into a leaf person. (Googly eyes required.)