Fall Leaf Jewelry

Fall Leaf Jewelry 

I collected some leaves while going for a morning walk a few weeks ago. When I got back home I sat the leaves on my whiteboard and stared at them while finishing up another DIY post. I knew I wanted to do something fun with them but I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do. I had a small container of cement sitting on my craft table and instantly went to google to search what I could do with leaves and cement. I found a TON of cool stuff but the coolest was a project called leaf casting. If you’ve never heard of this then I highly recommend looking it up! So I tried casting a leaf just to get a feel for it and it was actually pretty easy! I then saw my hemp cord and that’s when the idea for jewelry came to me. I collected all different shapes and sizes of leaves and found my favorite to be this longer feather like ones.

Materials:

• leaves any shape or size you like
• cement (only a few tablespoons are needed. I used underlayment. It was a little more expensive but I like how  fast it dries.)
• gloves & a mask for working with cement ( I didn’t use either but I probably should have!)
• water
• wax paper
• old bowl or plastic throw away bowl
• plastic spoon
• a piece of cheap foam
• toothpicks
• metallic paint ( or any paint you like)
• Hemp Cord
• earring hooks
• 2 Gauge wire

How to: 

Step 1: Go on a scavenger hunt and find some cool leaves!

Step 2: Mix cement. You want a slushie-like consistency.

Step 3: Turn leaves so vein side is up. Gently scoop on some cement and use a spoon to evenly spread cement over leaves. Gently pull leaves forward by the stem to get rid of any excess cement.

 

Step 4: Carefully place leaves on top of the foam. Using a toothpick, poke a hole where you have the earring hook and necklace string to go.

*I highly recommencement using the foam. I have made these many times where I forgot to insert the toothpicks and then my cement hardened on me.

Step 5: Allow cement to dry for about 20-30 minutes and GENTLY twist and pull toothpicks out. Wait an additional 15-20 minutes and gently pull leaves off of the cement. If it’s too wet your leaves will break but if its too dry they will stick! There’s a small window of time that this needs to be done in. Allow leaves to dry overnight.

Step 6: Paint leaves and allow to dry. Next time I make these I may add a coat of sealer to them as the paint seemed to rub off a little.

 

Step 7: Necklace- Cut hemp cord to size and attach leaf or leaves. I like the look of a double hemp cord so I use two different colors. If you have trouble putting the cords through a toothpick will help!

 

Step 7: Earrings: Thread a piece of 2 gauge wire threw the earring and attach earring hook to the front of the wire. Pull wire behind the earring and twist tight enough that it stays but leaving a little gap so the earring can dangle. A youtube tutorial of this will be up sometime this week!

 

Looking for some trendy jewelry? I have the perfect place for you! Check out Autumn essence shop on Etsy! She has the CUTEST stuff!