Fall Leaf Votive

I still have about 30 small glass votives kicking around from my wedding last year.  I have to say, I’m enjoying coming up with new projects for them to go with the seasons!  Last weekend, I was out walking my dog, and found myself gazing up at the beautiful foliage.  I started reminiscing about a project I remember working on with my mom when I was about 4 years old, when we first moved to New England.  My mom ironed beautiful leaves between pieces of wax paper to preserve them.  This easy DIY reminds me a little of that project.  Here is how they turned out:

All I used for this project was my trusty Mod Podge and acrylic gel medium.  Other necessary items include a small paint brush, razor blade to clean the edges, and the desire to pretend like you have alien hands.  Stay tuned for that.

First thing I did was cover the back of each leaf in Mod Podge, and arrange them on the votive.  With these small ones I used three leaves per votive, but you could completely cover it and use more.

Then, once the Mod Podge was dry, I cleaned up the edges.

Finally, I slathered a nice thick layer of acrylic gel medium over the whole thing, and let it dry for a few hours.  See? Alien hands.

I think the fun part about this project is the texture that the brush leaves on the glass when you go over it with the gel medium.  I wanted to see the texture, which is why I chose to not use a foam brush like I normally would when I use gel medium.  I think it is more fun this way.  And it looks so pretty all lit up!  I plan on displaying these on my mantle for a bit, and then use them as decorations for Thanksgiving.

Notes:

1. It makes it easier to place the leaves if you leave the stems on!  Once the Mod Podge is dry, it’s easily removed.

2. Feel free to experiment with more opaque gel mediums!  It will give it more of a waxy look similar to ironing leaves in wax paper.  Mine came out much more glossy because of the type of acrylic I used.

3. I’m not entirely sure how safe it is to use gel medium near open flame.  I use flame-less candles just to be safe, and always closely monitor candles while they burn.

Enjoy!

Tagged: decorating, DIY, fall, nature, recycle, Thanksgiving, votives