Pressing matters, paint tutorial

 I saw this perfect little leaf on my walk today. It was shaded just so, and had the cutest little hole, like a beauty mark! I thought, wonder if there is anyone who hasn't painted stuff, then pressed it onto fabric?? This is the way I did it today...

 I gathered some textile paints, some muslin scraps, a foam brush, the lid from a plastic bin, some freezer paper, and my ironing board so I could do the whole thing outside at a comfortable height. I can lift my I.B. but not the tall table, so this becomes my makeshift work station when I do smelly stuff.

I placed the real leaf on the freezer paper, painted it mixing colors as I went. Then laid it paint side down on the fabric, put a piece of paper over it, and smoothed it gently with my hands til I felt all the paint transferred. Then I lifted off the paper, then gently lifted off the leaf  (see pic below)

I continued with the same leaf, repainting over and over until I used up my scraps and got tired of it.

I used a sea sponge to dab paint around the leaf shapes to give it more depth. 
 Let the prints dry, place between  plain muslin as a pressing sheet, iron,  and there you go! They needed a bit of ink pen detailing for impact, and boy oh boy will they look cool with metallic threads and quilting!

I am mostly finished with my Thankful Exchange squares and have had such a great time. I'll post pics later but decided to add one of these leaves to my exchange blocks. I put fusible on the back, cut around the leaf and fused to the 6 inch square, ready to be quilted and embellished and join the others.

Happy painting y'all
LeeAnna
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