Pressing Leaves

Wednesday, May 4, 2016

I've had my eyes pointed up toward the skies for a few weeks, just admiring California's foliage. The plants are so different here! Everyone's front yard is stocked with flowers and birds of paradise, but the trees are something else! Eucalyptus everywhere! I started pulling leaves off trees, bushes, and weeds and am in love with the variety I've got. Even after finishing this project, my commute walk is often full of considerations of the trees around.

The photos below are just the finished leaves. I've got a batch of gingko + others currently being pressed in the shelves, for the end of May!

1. Place recently picked leaves (less than 30mins) between two sheets paper inside a book.
   
2. To fully press the leaves, place the leaved-book underneath other books. I put my leaves in a horizontally-positioned Michael Crichton book.
   
3. Wait 3 weeks before opening book
   
4. Paint the wrong side of leaf with Mod Podge
   I used a satin finish this time around, and I paint the "bad side" of the leaf first, usually (this has to do with how the Mod Podge dries & pools).
   
   If you're going to seal the pressed specimens directly to a piece of paper, then paint the wrong side with Mod Podge, place the leaf on the paper, and paint over it. This will seal the pressed leaf to the paper in that position.
5. Let leaves sit ~10 minutes to dry.
   I like to use plastic as a drying mat for the leaves. They're slightly less likely to be destroyed when picked up if plastic is used instead of paper.
6. Paint the "good side" of the leaves with Mod Podge. You want to make sure the leaf is fully covered, and be sure that no paintbrush hairs were left behind.
   
7. Let leaves sit and dry overnight.
   When leaves are fully dried, I placed them carefully in an envelope and back into the bookshelf, between books. Vertically.