Tried and Tested Tip Number 32 [Autumnal Doodle Leaves]

I love the countryside. I may not be such a big fan of insects and creepy crawlies, but I really enjoy collecting leaves, branches, shells, and other goodies! I have been really admiring some of the artwork I have seen on the internet over recent years that take these natural creations and work with them to create pieces of art - even if sometimes they are temporary.

I recently found this beautiful autumnal leaf lying on the grass. It had turned brown, but was still fresh enough to not crumble under my touch. Since I had my favourite white (Gelly Roll) and black (Pilot Hi-Tecpoint) pens with me I decided to draw on it right then and there! I treated the leaf just like a page in my sketchbook, but worked with the shape of the leaf to make a complimentary pattern. At the end of the day, if you're drawing on a leaf and you don't like how it turns out, you can just pick up another leaf! I love that you can see the veins and markings still, but with another design laid over the top.

I think this is a really good practise for people to learn to experiment with different mediums and test their boundaries, but also very feasible to do with children. What else can you find to draw on?! There are no consequences if it goes wrong, so you can have fun and experiment whilst enjoying nature. And if you love what you create, they can be turned into a mobile, a garland, or other decorations.

Being Creative September: Autumn

Let me start by apologising for my lack of posting lately. Crazy things have been going on healthwise, I've cut out sugar and my husband is currently completely bedbound and unable to move. Before that happened, we'd had the busiest month in a long time, with visits to the local Heritage Market in an old tobacco warehouse; Chambre Hardman's house, and Ellesmere Port Boat Museum to name a few! And that's not to mention the constant benefit battles, and Royal Mail compensating us for losing my engagement ring... Life has been insane. Which is why my Being Creative is a bit later than normal!!

This month's theme over at Julia Crossland's Being Creative is Autumn.

My first thought was leaves. Crunchy, crispy, colourful - you can't get more Autumnal! I'm really excited about my fabric journal at the moment, so decided the perfect thing to do was to create another page for it.

 

Each of the leaves are either fabric with a thin layer of wadding, or just felt. It is 2 sided, and all hand stitched. Each leaf either has handsewn veins, a simple outline, chain stitch, or blanket stitch edges. I think it's really effective, and was fun to create!

Here you can see more details:

 I also have to mention YoungCaptive for an extra bit of inspiration with the construction of this :)