Welcome to the sixth week of my Summer Crafting series. Every Friday for the next 4 weeks, I’ll be sharing easy crafts you can make over the weekend. Be sure to check back each week for new projects!
A few months ago, I shared some of my crafting disasters along with a book page art flop that ended up being pretty funny. Not to be deterred, I’ve continued making art pieces from old books and wanted to share with you this little project (which, by the way, is part one of a bigger project that I’ll be sharing soon!)
Making leaves from book pages is simple enough for a child to do and kind of therapeutic for mom, too. I painted these while my daughter was eating lunch one day, added the outlines during snack time and cut them out later in the evening. Easy peasy. (Is that even a phrase these days?)
How to Make Book Page Leaves
You will need:
A few pages from an old book (Check your local library for discards.)
Green paint (I used gouache in three different colors.)
Pencil
Black brush pen (Make sure it is permanent ink.)
Scissors
Squeeze a small amount of paint onto a plate. Add water and mix to the desired color and consistency. If you would like the leaves to not be see-through, add a little bit of white paint to the green. Alternately, you can also add less water.
Draw leaf shapes on the paper using the pencil. (You don’t have to do this, but it will make it easy for younger children to paint if there is a guide to follow.) Paint the leaves, and let dry completely.
Once the leaves are dry, use a black brush pen to outline them. This is my favorite part because the brush pen makes the green pop! Don’t push too hard when using a brush pen since that will damage the tip.
Now it’s time to cut out the leaves! Cut them out and use them in collage, scrapbooking, or whatever your creative heart desires. I’ll be sharing how I used them next week!
Have you ever made book page art? What did you make?
Have a lovely {and creative} day!
14 responses to “How to Make Book Page Leaves”
I love it! So cute! I love the look of words on a page in art. I’m looking forward to seeing what you did with your leaves!
Can’t wait to share with you…I’ll share part two next Friday. 🙂
I even like them on the page before you cut them out—so sweet looking! You’ve inspired me to want to make some book page art, thanks!
You’re so welcome, Brooke! I kinda wanted to frame them as is before I cut them out too! Think I’ll make this project again to do just that. 🙂
p.s. I am LOVING your The New In-Crowd series…so incredibly inspiring + encouraging. 🙂
Oh how cute! I love how they turned out! Thanks so much for taking the time to link up at the #HomeMattersParty – we hope to see you again on Friday!
Thanks, Kristen! 🙂
I absolutely love this! Pinned and tweeted. Thank you so much for bringing such a masterpiece to our party. I hope to see you tomorrow at 7 pm. We can’t wait to party with you! Lou Lou Girls
Thanks so much for stopping by and for your sweet comment. Just made my day! 🙂
I just love book page crafts, though I admit the first few times I tried cutting a book page was not easier for this book-lover! lol!
Oh Emma, I hear you! 🙂 Even though the book I read was a discarded book from the library, I still read through it just in case it was good, haha. Clearly, it didn’t make the cut (no pun intended if that was a pun…) Anyway, now I just have to make projects like this in secret so my daughter doesn’t see me cutting up books–last thing I want her to learn at this point. 🙂 Thanks so much for your comment. Have a great day!
Book page projects are some of my favorites! And these certainly don’t disappoint 🙂 I love your collection of leaves! Thanks for linking up with Creative Spark; I’m featuring your post at this week’s party. Hope you’ll come link up with us again 😉
Emily! Oh my goodness, thank you so much for the feature! 🙂 Aren’t book page crafts the best? Hope you have a great Wednesday–I’ll be stopping by in the morning. 🙂
You ALWAYS have the cutest ideas! I’m featuring this at our weekly link party!
Jennifer, thank you so much! You just made my day. 🙂 Tomorrow’s going to be a fun day! Thanks so much for stopping by. 🙂