Leaf printing is a fun way to create nature art. There are various different ways of doing leaf printing. My girls enjoy painting leaves and then pressing them face down to make a print. This time though, I thought I’d give hammered leaf printing a try.
You will need:
- Paper
- Kitchen roll
- Leaves
- A hammer
1) Place a leaf on a piece of paper and put a sheet or two or kitchen roll on top.
2) Gently pound the leaf with the hammer. You may need to go over the leaf a few times to bring the colour out.
3) Peel back the kitchen roll and remove the leaf to reveal the print.
I tried a variety of different leaves and a couple of small flowers. Some of the leaves produced much better prints than others.
I was a little disappointed by my prints as they hadn’t come out quite as well as I hoped. However, the shapes that were left behind on the piece of paper inspired me to start doodling. The flower prints became butterfly wings; one long leaf looked like an insect. Instead of leaf prints, I saw the starting point for fairies and dragons, boats, birds and even a Disney villain.
Some of the prints are still fairly clear in the finished doodle. Others provided the outline and got a little lost in amongst the drawings. It was fun to let my imagination run riot for a while and just doodle. I always find drawing very relaxing – it’s a good way of switching off and just focusing on the here and now. It certainly made doing some leaf printing a little more fun.
This year we’re taking part in #30DaysWild – a challenge from the Wildlife Trusts to get outside each day in June, do something wild and connect with nature.
This looks like a lovely creative activity. What a great idea. I must try this with my daughters, they would love it! Thanks! #FamilyFunLinky.
Thanks Kate, it was a fun one to do 🙂
I love that you took what you had and doodled. We’ve tried flower printing like this, but I felt so bad about hammering the beautiful blooms I couldn’t bring myself to do it again. I’ll have to give it a go with leaves instead.
Thank you – it was only because the leaves didn’t come out as well as I would have liked. I quite liked the fact that the imperfect result lead to a different kind of creativity! 🙂
I’m enjoying seeing all your nature inspired posts appearing. I love how the foliage inspired you to doodle. #FamilyFun
Thank you Helena – I’m enjoying being inspired by nature this month 🙂
Oh my goodness how clever is that, what a fantastic idea to do with the little ones. My eldest would love doing something like this, I will be sure to give it a go with her when we get some one on one time. The youngest will probably just eat the leaves! Thanks for sharing at #familyfun
Thank you – it was fun to do 🙂
This is such a fun and clever idea! will definitely try this out #familyfunlinky
Thank you – hope you have fun if you do give it a try 🙂
Hi Louise, I love this idea and it’s not something I’ve seen before. It looks like a great way of getting children to really let their imagination go wild!
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Thank you Debbie. I quite enjoyed doodling around the leaf prints 🙂