Leaf Hammering

I had planned on doing this project earlier in the summer when the leaves were 'juicer' but oh the downfall of procrastination.

For Isaac's science class I took him and Evan Grace outside and had them hunt for leaves they liked.

While they were searching I cut a piece of linen and laid it over a wooden table we have on our back porch.
Evan Grace wanted to try first, so she picked her favorite leaf and placed the front of it down on the linen.

She helped me place masking tape over the entire leaf .

Then I handed her the hammer and she set to work. She didn't have a lot of strength to put behind the hammer but she liked banging away at the leaf regardless.

We all took a minute to look at how dark the leaf underneath the tape had gotten before we peeled back the tape.

I love how the veins show up better than the actual leaf.

Then it was Isaac's turn. Boy did he go at it.

He picked a maple leaf.

I had plans on eventually making a bigger version of this small fabric for a curtain. Sadly it'll have to wait until next year, the leaves around here are just to dry .

The neat thing is you can do this with flowers too. Eventually the leaves will turn from green to brown but it's a permanent color and can be washed over and over without fading away. I think we may have enough juicy leaves outside to maybe make a few linen napkins.