my creative workbook
TRANSCRIPT
Tutorials - Skeleton Leaves
http://www.christinedebeer.ca/tutorials/skeleton-leaves[10/27/16, 4:23:33 PM]
Skeleton Leaves
22 September 2012 ... click to send Christine a smile
This is not easy. Nor is it quick. At best I can tell you that it will definitely... maybe work. Or maybe...definitely. But it is great fun and when it works it is highly addictive and you will never look at leaves in
quite the same way again.
MY CREATIVEWORKBOOK
Christine de Beer Floral Lifestyle Design
Tutorials - Skeleton Leaves
http://www.christinedebeer.ca/tutorials/skeleton-leaves[10/27/16, 4:23:33 PM]
Line a oven tray or casserole dish with baking paper.
Tutorials - Skeleton Leaves
http://www.christinedebeer.ca/tutorials/skeleton-leaves[10/27/16, 4:23:33 PM]
Measure out 3/4 cup of the baking soda.
Tutorials - Skeleton Leaves
http://www.christinedebeer.ca/tutorials/skeleton-leaves[10/27/16, 4:23:33 PM]
Bake the Baking Soda in an oven at 200'C for 30 minutes. This turns the Baking Soda(sodium bicarbonate) into Washing Soda (sodium carbonate)
Make sure you are extra careful when using Washing Soda. It has a pH of 11 so wear protective glovesand glasses to avoid skin or eye irritation.
Tutorials - Skeleton Leaves
http://www.christinedebeer.ca/tutorials/skeleton-leaves[10/27/16, 4:23:33 PM]
Boil a full kettle of water. Measure out two cups and pour itinto a saucepan. You will need the rest of the water to top up
your leafy-soup as the water boils away.
Tutorials - Skeleton Leaves
http://www.christinedebeer.ca/tutorials/skeleton-leaves[10/27/16, 4:23:33 PM]
Dissolve the sodium carbonate. When the mixture reaches boiling point turn the heat down tosimmer.
Choose a few leaves. As a rule waxy leaves work best. Flip the leaf over and look at the veins. The morepronounced the vein network on the back of the leaf the better the end result. Some leaves will alsodiscolour while others remain green.
Tutorials - Skeleton Leaves
http://www.christinedebeer.ca/tutorials/skeleton-leaves[10/27/16, 4:23:33 PM]
For this tutorial I chose Ivy leaves to show you a leaf that remains green
Tutorials - Skeleton Leaves
http://www.christinedebeer.ca/tutorials/skeleton-leaves[10/27/16, 4:23:33 PM]
and Salal (Lemon Leaf) to show how the leaves turnprogressively darker as their chlorophyll breaks down.
Tutorials - Skeleton Leaves
http://www.christinedebeer.ca/tutorials/skeleton-leaves[10/27/16, 4:23:33 PM]
Gently simmer the leafy soup for an hour and a half to two hours. Top up the water level asthe water evaporates.
When you notice the flesh starts to become soft and float away from the veins, lift the leaf out of thewater with a spatula or the back of a large spoon and rinse in cold water.
Tutorials - Skeleton Leaves
http://www.christinedebeer.ca/tutorials/skeleton-leaves[10/27/16, 4:23:33 PM]
Place the leaf on a smooth flat surface and smooth any creases away with a brush.
Tutorials - Skeleton Leaves
http://www.christinedebeer.ca/tutorials/skeleton-leaves[10/27/16, 4:23:33 PM]
Blot away any moisture with a cotton bud.
Tutorials - Skeleton Leaves
http://www.christinedebeer.ca/tutorials/skeleton-leaves[10/27/16, 4:23:33 PM]
"Paint" the leaf with water and start to brush away the fleshy pulp.
Tutorials - Skeleton Leaves
http://www.christinedebeer.ca/tutorials/skeleton-leaves[10/27/16, 4:23:33 PM]
Continue to blot away moisture and painting the leaf with clean water.
Tutorials - Skeleton Leaves
http://www.christinedebeer.ca/tutorials/skeleton-leaves[10/27/16, 4:23:33 PM]
Set the leaf aside to dry, when the veins show through and the fleshy pulp is removed fromthis side of the leaf.
Tutorials - Skeleton Leaves
http://www.christinedebeer.ca/tutorials/skeleton-leaves[10/27/16, 4:23:33 PM]
Flip the leaf over and clean the other side.
Tutorials - Skeleton Leaves
http://www.christinedebeer.ca/tutorials/skeleton-leaves[10/27/16, 4:23:33 PM]
When the skeleton leaf is dry it will naturally pull away from the glass. But if any bits remainstuck carefully wiggle it loose with a needle
Tutorials - Skeleton Leaves
http://www.christinedebeer.ca/tutorials/skeleton-leaves[10/27/16, 4:23:33 PM]
A batch of skeleton Ivy leaves, ready to design with
Tutorials - Skeleton Leaves
http://www.christinedebeer.ca/tutorials/skeleton-leaves[10/27/16, 4:23:33 PM]
The Salal (Lemon Leaf) was a bit more robust and easier to work with. Paint the leaf with cleanwater and wash away the pulp.
Tutorials - Skeleton Leaves
http://www.christinedebeer.ca/tutorials/skeleton-leaves[10/27/16, 4:23:33 PM]
Flip the leaf over and paint and wash away the other side.
Tutorials - Skeleton Leaves
http://www.christinedebeer.ca/tutorials/skeleton-leaves[10/27/16, 4:23:33 PM]
Almost a skeleton leaf!
Tutorials - Skeleton Leaves
http://www.christinedebeer.ca/tutorials/skeleton-leaves[10/27/16, 4:23:33 PM]
A batch of skeleton Salal leaves, ready to design with
To bleach the leaves:
Tutorials - Skeleton Leaves
http://www.christinedebeer.ca/tutorials/skeleton-leaves[10/27/16, 4:23:33 PM]
Place the leaves in a shallow dish a pour in enough bleach to just cover the leaves
Tutorials - Skeleton Leaves
http://www.christinedebeer.ca/tutorials/skeleton-leaves[10/27/16, 4:23:33 PM]
It will immediately start to bleach
Tutorials - Skeleton Leaves
http://www.christinedebeer.ca/tutorials/skeleton-leaves[10/27/16, 4:23:33 PM]
After a few minutes the leaves will be a pale yellow
Tutorials - Skeleton Leaves
http://www.christinedebeer.ca/tutorials/skeleton-leaves[10/27/16, 4:23:33 PM]
and then a beautiful winter white
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About me
Tutorials - Skeleton Leaves
http://www.christinedebeer.ca/tutorials/skeleton-leaves[10/27/16, 4:23:33 PM]
This is my ongoing creative workbook to research and capture design projects and techniques. You will mostly findideas for floral art but I will also include some other projects such as gift packaging, cards and even cake decoratingwith a few lifestyle projects arranged in between.
Everything you see in this workbook was designed, made and photographed by me, unless specific credit is given toanother designer.
Videos
Toronto Flower Show at Canada Blooms 2016
Tutorials - Skeleton Leaves
http://www.christinedebeer.ca/tutorials/skeleton-leaves[10/27/16, 4:23:33 PM]
RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2015 Limelight Floral Art Design
Crafting Corsages in three ways with BoutStix Magnet Stix
Tutorials - Skeleton Leaves
http://www.christinedebeer.ca/tutorials/skeleton-leaves[10/27/16, 4:23:33 PM]
Tutorials
Meanwhile...
Getting Creative with Boutstix Magnet Stix: Succulent and Air Plant Boutonniere
Petals
Tutorials - Skeleton Leaves
http://www.christinedebeer.ca/tutorials/skeleton-leaves[10/27/16, 4:23:33 PM]
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Tutorials - Skeleton Leaves
http://www.christinedebeer.ca/tutorials/skeleton-leaves[10/27/16, 4:23:33 PM]
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Tutorials - Skeleton Leaves
http://www.christinedebeer.ca/tutorials/skeleton-leaves[10/27/16, 4:23:33 PM]
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Tutorials - Skeleton Leaves
http://www.christinedebeer.ca/tutorials/skeleton-leaves[10/27/16, 4:23:33 PM]
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Tutorials - Skeleton Leaves
http://www.christinedebeer.ca/tutorials/skeleton-leaves[10/27/16, 4:23:33 PM]
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Tutorials - Skeleton Leaves
http://www.christinedebeer.ca/tutorials/skeleton-leaves[10/27/16, 4:23:33 PM]
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Tutorials - Skeleton Leaves
http://www.christinedebeer.ca/tutorials/skeleton-leaves[10/27/16, 4:23:33 PM]
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