DIY - Thanksgiving Decorations - Paper Leaves Garland

I love doing little projects that give instant gratification.  I love these little paper leaves.  They are quick and easy to make and you can use them for tons of things.  I made a beaded leaf garland first for my mantel.  You can use these to wrap around your candles with raffia, or use as place holders at the dinner table.  They look very festive wherever you use them.

First I printed off this Maple Leaf for my guide.  (Just click on the leaf, if you want to print it.)

Then I cut out the leaf, folded it in half, and traced around it on the paper I was using for my leaves.  I used a parchment paper because it is heavier and makes for sturdier leaves.  I also used some sheet music for a few leaves to create some contrast.

After I cut out all of  my leaves, I used "Liquid Leaf" Brass color, and painted all the parchment paper leaves. You can use spray paint too. I left the sheet music leaves unpainted.

While my leaves were drying, I started to make my string of beads.  I used green, gold, and few red glass beads for my string.  The Liquid Leaf dries really quick so by the time I had a short string of beads, my leaves were dry.  Then I just strung the leaves between the beads every so often, alternating the gold parchment paper leaves and the white sheet music leaves.

I used green apples, green moss covered stones, pine cones, and a lot of glass and candles to create the rest of the mantel display.  Easy, simple, and pretty!  But then I decided to use acrylic paint in orange, red, and yellow to add more color to my leaves.

Smiles!

~Renew Redo~