Painting a dried holly leaf
by
Muv8384605
+4
Cut a couple of branches off a holly bush before our house was sold, thinking I'd do something creative. The dried leaves are very pale now, would like to know if I could paint them to make them look more alive. Thought I'd put them on a grapevine wreath along with pine cones from the same property. Just sentimental!
6 answers
-
Maybe you could dip them in dye to regain some of the green color? If they are too dry I would be worried that painting them might crumble them. . .
Lynn
on Aug 19, 2016
-
Best use a spray paint for this one. Rustoleum has a great range of metallics for a festive look, if you use a flat colour, you can always rub a little acrylic metallic effect on the edges. I purchased a store brand and it is as good as Rustoleum but cheaper (Wilko in the UK). Good luck, such a lovely idea for your new home. (If you have any breakages, you can fill in with dried bay leaves, great for this kind of things and very inexpensive too).
Flossie
on Aug 19, 2016
-
After you paint them, use a spray on clear acrylic to help strengten and preserve them. It comes in several types of finish, from clear, to matte, to pearl et.
Darline
on Aug 19, 2016
-
I've been thinking of bleaching pine cones as others have shown here on Hometalk and I think the pale color might just be another way to use them rather than worrying about bringing the green color back... They might look nice with the paleness and some silver or gold edging on them. Maybe even some silver or gold beads as berries, or even the red....
Meem Kaplan
on Aug 19, 2016
-
Hi Muverdear - the above answers are all good ones, With the many, many types of paints out there right now, you can paint ANY surface! Lynn raises a good point re the leaf crumbling - I would add to that, if you do try painting, don't hold the leaf by its edges (as it will probably crumble or split) but simply "cup" each leaf in the palm of your hand and gently stroke on the paint (cheap craft will work) OR do as Flossie suggests - use spray paint. If I know I'm going to get good results/coverage/etc with craft paint, I do because of the cost and no fumes or mess plus if you get paint on your hands (when holding each leaf) nothing is toxic. Meem's idea of just leaving the holly leaves pale is also nice.
Elaine
on Aug 19, 2016
-
It seems like you could dip them in wax to preserve them both the leaves and the pinecones. You could probably put some color into the wax to get the leaves a little darker.
Thalia Kottke
on Aug 19, 2016
Sign Up to Answer
Related Discussions
Suggested Project Book
