I can't believe I haven't even been here since October. Time is just flying. School projects are wrapping up, a chill is in the air, and it's time for the holidays.
& best of all, happy birthday to my sweetheart! We celebrated quietly. We had a typical dinner of grilled chicken salad, I made some cupcakes, and we watched a movie {during which he fell asleep}. Perfecto.
I realized the other day that soon enough, all of the leaves will be brow instead of their gorgeous fall colors. Just like with the pine cones, I wandered around the nature trails at work during lunch and started to gather leaves. The trees were brilliant, so my pockets were pretty full. My intention? To create a gorgeous candle holder!
To press my leaves, I used an old accounting book. {thank you education!} I added some scraps of paper to place the leaves on to absorb any leaf moisture, so I wouldn't ruin our book. I left them for about a day, and they were ready to use.
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| drying after the glue |
ingredients.
mason jar, or another glass jar
pressed leaves {light color leaves let light shine through, darker leaves are good for contrast}
modge podge {the liquid glue}
paint brush, or sponge brush
modge podge {the acrylic sealer, probably optional}
I
Coat the cleaned outside of the jar with the liquid glue. A thin layer.
II
Press the leaves on, and start to coat with glue. This was the tricky part of me. The leaves have to get a little moist, so it takes a little time for them to really start to stick. Once they were mostly on, I just moved on and came back to re-visit a few times.
III
Let the jars start to dry. Re-visit the edges of the leaves, pushing them down as the glue dries and is still sticky. I took my sponge brush and just dabbed all over the glass to give it a more frosted look, and added glitter to a few of the leaves for a little glam.
IV
After the jars have fully dried, spray them with the acrylic sealer and let them dry again.
V
Add a candle, and enjoy!
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| perfect evening ambiance! |
