We all give in to various trends of fashion, whether it is effects that are in at the present time or sometimes things that hail from yesteryear.
A great deal depends on the current mood we are, really, in and what look we want to actually achieve.
Fashions do come and go, and yes, reappear again! If you keep things long enough they are odds-on sure to.
So many of us now conduct such eventful lives, tearing here there and everywhere, trying to achieve everything with not sufficient hours in the day of the week.
We all want to pause at times and rest a little, nevertheless the time allocated meant for this seems to be ever diminishing.
Therefore, with so little time remaining for relaxation, one thing that we can do to benefit ourselves, is to actually surround our living area with stuff which will offer harmony and furthermore a sense of calm.
This can only result in lifting our spirits.
Yes, we can hang up a few abstract paintings, but you too can add a hint of realism by using leaves collected from your very own garden to invent your personal pictures.
I, personally, in the past had several of these inside my bathroom.
These timber frames each contained a single leaf, however I became awfully fond of them.
Sorry to say they got misplaced along the way after I packed up my house! As a result let me explain.
If, for example, you make use of a timber framework that has a rectangular outline, give or take 10x 8 inches, it will maybe have an insert segment of around 4x6 inches.
Working on this idea, you would be better to decide on a frame with the front part entirely wood, except for the insert section.
Cover your work surface with newspaper.
To make a start take the frame apart by removing the flipside in addition to the glass.
Then sand all the timber down, then check you eliminate all the dust before you carry on.
At this point seize a paintbrush and spread over a layer of white basic coverage to all the timber and then place this to dry out.
When it has dried you will need to brush on a colour that will blend together with your leaf.
A natural brown will go with nearly all décors.
Put it somewhere to dry out, optimistically where it will not collect dust.
When this is ready for you to continue use a sandpaper and rub the paint down.
The paint should shine through, part white, part colour, to give a distressed look.
As for your leaves, you would only need a single leaf in this instance.
Every leaf you intend to use has to be scrupulously dried out.
You may well lay the leaves stuck between paper, or blotting paper, along with a strong weight on top.
Otherwise, now leave them anywhere warm on top of paper to dry.
You might like to touch the leaves later on with some varnish or glycerine, but this is not compulsory.
Make sure that you have some plain card for your paper backdrop, of your inset.
Recycled paper is perfect.
This can be white, cream, or else on the other hand a lighter or darker tone than your frame.
Most likely you will find that your leaf will fit in the inset quite snugly, but if not, you could put a bit of double sided tape or adhesive on the back of the leaf to fix it.
At this point you can reassemble the complete frame.
Generally, I think, this works very well if you have a set of them, like a set of 2,3, or 4, and every one with a different sort of leaf.