Lesson: Painted Leaves

Making leaf rubbings is fun, but painting them is even more fun. I made a little leaf table runner. Other ideas are printing on bags, a skirt, or place mats.

Materials Needed: a selection of leaves, acrylic paints in fall colors, brayer, small paintbrush, fabric (I used unbleached muslin)
Step 1: Paint the backside, or veiny side, of the leaf. Be sure to get the stem too. This can be a little tricky. For kids, I would have them put the leaf on a paper plate and then paint.
Step 2: Place the painted leaf, paint side down, on fabric.
Step 3: Roll the brayer over the leaf several times.
Step 4: Carefully lift up the leaf and see the print!
I found that it was fun to mix colors on the leaves and overlap them a little.
Frankie found his favorite.
This would also be fun to do on paper and make some simple Thanksgiving cards. Happy Fall!

not what I had planned...

I have had this drawing Phoebe did up on the bulletin board for some time now. I had big plans for it - block prints for pockets, T-shirts, fabric. I have had some success with block printing in the past on paper, but have been really wanting to print on fabric, too.
While it's not bad, it's not what I wanted:
1. After carving the block, I realized that I wasn't thinking and made a mirror image of the original.
2. I think I should leave the body (or dress as Phoebe called it) solid.
3. It needs to be just the image so I can do repeats.
4. The size is all wrong. I have no clue what to make with it. I do think it might make cute note cards, though.
5. I tried some water-based fabric paint (see pic below) that worked OK, but wasn't perfect.
I'm going to keep trying. In the meantime, I carefully read the block print tutorial by the so kind Lizzy House who even gave me some suggestions for the perfect ink for fabric. I'll work on it and let you know how it goes...