Make a Distressed Fall Leaf Plaque

I wanted to do a fun decopauge project on a dime to celebrate the Thanksgiving season! Too many times, I think Thanksgiving gets lost in the shuffle for a lot of people after Halloween is over. I guess it’s the commercialism of Christmas coming on strong. I personally like to celebrate fall in November and everything it has to offer…fallen leaves, warm hues, and pumpkin spice! This project was fun and easy to do and can be completed in an evening. It would make a pretty fall buffet table accent or alternative to a fall wreath.

Distressed Fall Leaf Plaque

Materials:
– magazine cutouts in fall hues and black and white copy
– Collage Pauge® Instant Decopauge
– Tulip® 3D Fashion Paint in Copper Pearl
– Gold and white acrylic paint
– paper towel
– paintbrush
– wooden plaque
– foam brush (optional)
– scissors

Instructions:

1. Rip out magazine pages in fall hues. Also rip out the pages with the articles (this will be for your decopauged background).

2. Give your plaque a light basecoat using white paint. Wipe back with a paper tower for white-washed look.

3. Decopauge using Collage Pauge® over top of this by ripping up your articles and scattering them all over the front of your plaque. Decopauge to the edge and fold the paper around the edges. Let dry.

4. Now take the metallic copper and gold paints and rub around the edge and around the paper. I rubbed the colors more intense around the edges and sparingly in the middle. I realize I have big air bubbles in this photo, but after it dried I pressed them down and it made for even a more distressed look.

5. Cut out a leaf printed from the internet or hand-drawn. Line up in areas on your magazine clippings that might be interesting sections to collage.

6. Cut and collage the sections to fit using the paper leaf as a guide. I used three different images ripped up to make my leaf. Let dry.

7. Cut around/tidy up the leaf image to make your completed collaged leaf.

8. Decopauge your leaf onto the plaque. I had actually slightly tipped the leaf using the metallic paint before I adhered it to the canvas. Yes, I use my fingers to decopauge. I’m a messy crafter.