The seed for this project was planted after The Mister, buried deep in the depths of our pantry, uttered these words "Hey, we have a ton of paper bags... Maybe you can make something with them?". Never one to pass up an opportunity to get my craft on, my wheels started spinning and I got to work. Inspired by a kraft paper wreath and a book page vine, this Shimmery Leaf Vine sprung to life.
read more for the tutorial
[what you need]
foam or paint brush (not shown) : hot glue gun or white glue
[the low down]
[the low down]
make a few simple leaf templates
for size reference:
the smallest leaf is 4.5 inches from stem to tip
the largest leaf is 9 inches long from stem to tip
using the bag's existing folds as a guide, fold the remaining bag accordion-style.
place the template on the center fold and cut out the leaf.
the fold works perfectly as the center vein of the leaf.
i could comfortably cut out 3 leaves (of the same shape) at a time.
the "leaves" are painted with acrylic metallic paints (the same paints that i used on these burlap leaves).
a foam brush works great for smooth & full coverage.
the paint dries quickly so after painting a few leaves, flip them over and paint the reverse side.
i used the bag's handles as the "stem" of the vine.
if your bag does not have handles, use the leftover bottom of the bag and cut it into 1 inch strips (fold if not sturdy enough).
the leaves are stapled onto the "vine".
i overlapped the leaves to cover most of staples. in a couple of areas, i used a dab of glue to ensure that the staples stay out of sight.
the vine is attached to our living room mantel with a couple of command strips.
it also makes a pretty table runner.
and with smaller leaves, it'll make a great wreath that can be used year after year.
Unfortunately, I didn't make much of a dent in our paper bag population... Be prepared for more paper bag projects in the near future!
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p.s. The comments were erroneously wiped-out on this post. My apologies!