Things may seem to have slowed down with Autumn's Pantry, but let me assure you that much behind the scenes hard work is happening! In spite of having family in town for a wedding, and all of the resulting gatherings and activities, the harvest is in full progress! I won't say much about where I've been spending my limited mini time this past couple weeks, other than fall is a time where many things are still in bloom...
And the trees are beginning to show us that as one door closes, another beautiful one opens. So I decided to capture some of that glory in miniature by making fall leaves.
You'll need leaf punches. They come in several varieties and sizes, these are Small and Mini.
ProMarkers in a variety of fall colors work great for coloring a piece of regular printer paper. Amazon offers sets, but if you want to purchase singles in other colors, Blick is the way to go.
Just use all the colors to make random swirls. If any white spots show, color them with your lightest yellow. Be sure to flip the paper over and cover any bare spots on the back. too.
To soften the lines, you can blend the colors with Ranger Alcohol Blending Solution. Just paint it on with a brush and let dry. If you work on a piece of wax paper, cleanup is a breeze.
Here I've used the Punch Bunch Mini Maple Leaf punch. Those squares on my mat are 1/2" x 1/2" to give you an idea of the size.
One sheet of printer paper makes a pile this large.
If you're a glutton for perfection, you can crinkle them up or add veins.
I hope to be back next week with some more progress, hopefully, being finished with all the flowers.
As the days grow darker and the sun peeks out from the clouds less and less, I tend to get sad. This year, I am trying to think of fall as a way to clear out the old to make way for the new. Fall then, is not a death, but rather a clearing of the way so that all the new, good things can come to us again next spring. I just hope it seems to come as fast as summer seemed to go by!
xo xo,
Jodi
Fall may make you reflective, but this post has me really excited! I'm working on a large house right now and occasionally find motivation to be an issue. Admittedly, I am a glutton for mini "glutton for perfection" so a whole house is sometimes overwhelming. What I'm really looking forward to is changing the exterior of the house for seasons - and your post has me so excited! I can't wait to pile up these leaves in the corners and stuff them in the outdoor furniture cushions. I can see it so clearly - I better get back to work! Great ideas as usual - I so appreciate your blog! -Shelby
ReplyDeleteHi Shelby! I am so glad that the post inspired some excitement about decorating your big house for fall! Large projects can do the same to me - it just feels like there is so much to do, especially if you want to do a great and detailed job, that it seizes me from doing any work at all! But getting excited about any aspect is a smart way to get yourself back on track again! Thanks for your lovely comment!
DeleteWow! That's really cool. I always learn some new trick when I come visit you! Hoppe you have a great time at the wedding.
ReplyDeleteThanks Sheila! I so enjoy the sharing of each other's ideas, too, and have gotten many great ones from you over the years!
DeleteThe wedding is finished, it was really lovely, and now we are just sharing visits from mom and dad for another ten days or so.
You are the most prolific mini flower maker! What a wonderful way to bring sunshine to the shorter, rainier days coming to the Northwest. I’m one who enjoys fall. Thanks for showing us a way to bring it inside to our mini scenes with your simple, colorful process for making fall leaves.
ReplyDeleteHaving family in town? Lucky you. I’d easily set aside my minis to enjoy their company.
Hi Sherrill! Yes - it's been so nice getting together with everyone over the past couple weeks! It makes us all wonder how we let life fill up so fast and don't get together more often!
DeleteEach time I set out to make a bunch of flowers, the lingering memory is how much I enjoyed the process. It isn't until I get into the third day, with so many more to go, that I remember how monotonous it can get! But well worth the effort!
It's amazing how totally random scribbles turn into such beautiful leaves! Who would have thought? And you have clearly been very busy on the flower-making front! Looking forward to seeing the next installment.
ReplyDeleteThanks Deb! There is something so satisfying about scribbling random colors onto a piece of paper! When you know you can't mess it up, you enjoy the freedom to just create!
DeleteIt's such a wonderful project that I'm almost sorry that it's going to end soon. Meanwhile it's a pleasure to read each post and learn new tips. The flowers, pumpkins, leaves, hay, scarecrow and every single item are all stunning.
ReplyDeleteHugs, Drora
Thank you, Drora! It has been so much fun in so many aspects! As you probably imagine, I have a few other new project ideas to choose from, as well as a Christmas swap I am participating in. Idle equals depression for me, so busy is my most healthy state of mind!
DeleteJodi, again, brilliant but simple idea! The leaves look great. I must get some more alcohol pens. Autumn is a beautiful time, especially in places with lots of deciduous trees but here in Australia I am very much looking forward to summer! Our weather is definitely turning, despite snow at low altitude on Monday. Looking forward to more pantry pics when you get to them! Enjoy your weekend.
ReplyDeleteThanks Shannon! I love a fun little project like this! It shows you that all creativity does not have to be complicated or require much in the way of supplies! I hope you can find the markers where you're at, but regular markers or watercolors can achieve great results, too!
DeleteIf I could be a snowbird I would stay here through Halloween and then head to sunnier places, too! Snow and cold are not my style, and I know you'll enjoy the coming sunshine of summer down under!
What a wonderful post (but I'm wondering now… can it be that I start my comments here often or almost ever with a phrase like this… hmmm…)! Thanks for introducing this great way to make fall leaves. So far I've used my good water colors - which means painting both sides. Your leaves are stunning and your whole autumn display looks beautiful. And so do your flowers, you're right, there's still a lot in bloom and it's very important to have those in your garden to help the insects. I'm always touched to see an average of 6 bees at just 1 flower bulb of my beloved sedum.
ReplyDeleteAs I am not a summer person due to the heat I always look forward to fall. And of course to me it's a countdown to Christmas! *LOL* Have fun with your family issues - and whenever you'll have time to blog again I'll be glad to enjoy it.
Hugs
Birgit
Yes Dear Birgit! You always begin your comments with a wonderfully nice and encouraging sentiment and it makes my day every time! :O) Thank you!
DeleteWatercolors make excellent leaves and I bet your painting skills, like all your other skills return beautiful results!
It's funny that you love sedum - I really do too and I have two new kits on my work table now to try for the first time! So exciting!!! I hope someday to learn enough from my brother about bee keeping to have a few hives of my own and a garden to support them and others! My brother's bees are currently enjoying his catnip plants and I am fascinated to watch them and try to figure out if it has the same euphoric effect on them as it does on the cats!
I am not a huge fan of temperatures over 75 degrees (24 Celsius) but find that sunshine/sunlight has a huge effect on my psyche. I do enjoy fall, and Octobers here in the Northwest are traditionally full of sunny days. It's the gray, cold winters and endless springs that are a challenge for me, so staying busy is an essential aspect to good mental health for me.
When my kids were at home and while we had little ones in the family Christmas was a huge and celebrated big deal in our family. The youngest now is a senior in high school, so Christmas has a whole different meaning, depending on the many faith aspects in our family. If it were up to me, I would have a house full of foster kids to love and teach but alas my husband is dramatically opposed. I hope someday to have little ones around again to teach all kinds of wonderful things to and Christmas and the spirit and meaning will be a major part!
Once again Jodi, you have Delighted our eyes and tickled our senses with all the colours of your Never Ending Creativity and Amazing imagination! Your felt pen scribbles, has transformed ordinary paper leaves into "real" Autumn foliage- WeLL Done!
ReplyDeleteThanks Elizabeth! I'm glad you like the color bomb! :O)
Deletegreat idea for ht leaves! you do magic :-)
ReplyDeleteThanks Marion! What comes out of laziness, right? :O)
DeleteThanks for this method of making leaves; very simple and fast. And the many flowers are stunning.
ReplyDeleteYour autumn displey looks fantastic... although I prefer the summer.
Thanks Faby - exactly! With the flowers taking so long, I had to use a speedy method on the leaves. Though I think it might be even faster to have the Cricut cut them for me rather than punch out a whole page by hand!
DeleteI am sad that summer is leaving, too. It's been gray and rainy for a week now and I am just not ready for the dreary skies!!!
Just glorious work as always and such a lot of it - also as always. I have no idea if this really does work well but looked brilliant wherever I read it (sorry not to be able to credit whoever) .... she was showing how she made ivy leaves and she 'oiled' her paper both sides after colouring it. Just coated it, let it soak in and mopped off the excess and it sort of went a great blend of opaque with a hint of translucent like real leaves have. I think she used baby oil but I expect any fine light oil might work. Now there's an experiment for you.😏
ReplyDeleteThanks Marilyn, and thanks also for sharing the tip with the oil. I recall seeing something similar on a YouTube video where a kids summer art school colored sheets of printer paper with colored pencils, applied olive oil, then hung them in the windows. They really looked like stained glass! I'd love to try this method for a few ideas someday!
DeleteDear Jodi, yet another 'pick-me-up' post, thank you. Not just for the beautiful little tutorial (links and all) but the sentiments here are always to encouraging that all I want to do is go and make 'stuff' any stuff after a visit. If only RL did not demand to much of my time.
ReplyDeleteI do love autumn, but like you, I am not a wet-dark,grey-windy-weather-winter person and luckily our winters here in South Australia are relatively short and mild. Never the less I will try and blow warm breezes and sunshine your way as we head towards spring and summer at our end of the globe.
Enjoy the time you have with family - I don't get to see mine often and treassure the times that I do.
Hugs,
Anna
Thank you Anna! I do remember the days where real life responsibilities left no time for crafts of any kind. I know it leaves you longing to create something, and I hope life gifts you time here and there to feed your soul!
DeleteIt is exciting reaching that time of year where nice weather and sunshine greet you each morning! I hope you get to appreciate every moment! In my age/wisdom, I am learning that true happiness pervades every kind of weather and situation, so that is what I will try to attain as we begin the dark days of winter! I am grateful to have so many ideas to keep me mini focused and in creative spirits!
We used to have 26 souls at family gatherings and they were often and plenty. In the last 10 years so much of LIFE has happened to scatter us to the winds or make time together a precious thing. The saying is true that you don't know what you've got till it's gone. You are smart to treasure the family time!
¡Está genial! Me gusta como has conseguido ese colorido de las hojas.
ReplyDeletewowww, fantástico tutorial y resultado muy logrado.
ReplyDeleteUn saludo
Gracias marian! ¡Me alegra que te guste!
DeleteHi, Jodi - I love, love, love the autumn leaves in all their beautiful colors. I can imagine the fun you had making them! The flowers, too, in such a variety, are a wonderful reminder that autumn's season of bounty and beauty is almost upon us. Thank you for this lovely post.
ReplyDeleteMarjorie
Thanks Marjorie! If only I could achieve that amazing pinky-red of the leaves on my burning bush! Still a work in progress!
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