Nature craft: fabric suncatcher [and a creative thought process]
Making time to craft can be difficult. I know that for me, sometimes I just need a really quick, simple project, to get the creativity flowing again. I have been enjoying experimenting with pressing leaves and flowers and trying out different ways to create with them.
On a morning walk to school, we found these beautiful vibrant leaves (I think they are japanese maple leaves??) and immediately I wanted to make something with them! I collected a good handful… I thought perhaps we could make a nice hedgehog picture with them, so I decided to press them all, to maintain their shape. Unfortunately the leaves dried out fairly quickly on my table and when I came to press them in the evening, most were curled up already (lesson learnt!). There were 3 leaves that still seemed useable and I was messing around with an embroidery hoop and thinking how great it would be to try and create a set of seasonal hoops (this was a continuation of the snowflake embroidery that I created).
My thought process continued and I pondered embroidery and hot bundling dye techniques. I finally decided upon an experimentation. I wanted to see if I pressed the flowers on some fabric, what would happen? I’ve found that when pressing leaves with paper stock, they can adhere to the paper. I wondered if either a) the flowers would adhere to the fabric or b) some of the pigment might be pressed onto the fabric leaving a mark. The answer to both of these questions, is NO! Sure I could have googled to find out, but sometimes it is fun to investigate! I decided that I still wanted to combine fabric with the pressed leaves and I came up with this really simple fabric suncatcher craft!
Take an embroidery hoop, square of translucent fabric (I used undyed, organic batiste) and your pressed leaves/flowers, with stems attached (choose the type that allow light to pass through, thick waxy leaves for example, won’t be as nice).
Lay fabric over the top of your leaves/flowers. Now replace the outside hoop and tighten, keeping fabric taught. trim excess fabric and hang in window!
I really love the effect, it reminds me of shadow puppet theatre!
You can find more about making time to craft and a creative day at Crafting Connections. Creative Mamas, Danielle and Andrea offer a ton of creative inspiration for you and your children.
