DIY: Music Leaf Fall Swag

I tend to get crafty every now and then and figured, hey, out of all the fun stuff I attempt to make or paint, why not share it on the blog too. So, here goes my first attempt at a DIY tutorial.

First, while I have been known to come up with many neat-o ideas all on my own, this one stemmed from a Pinterest inspiration photo that I tracked down to the original site.

You can find the original post of this gorgeous book page leaf swag at Nesting Place  (I encourage you to check it out because she actually did a lot of cool things with paper and is super creative.)

So admit it - you can already envision this swag somewhere in your own house, adding that character and new fun twist on the same-ol-same-ol fall decor we all play into. I was the same way. I thought, hey, why does fall HAVE to be orange, red, and yellow? Let's try something new.

So...






 Step 1: Gather your Materials

I actually began this project before I read the blog on it, so my initial list of materials included:

Old books I won't feel guilty ruining
Thin floral wire
Glue
Tape
Tissue Paper for the vines
Wine
Fresca





My main rule when crafting is to spend as little money as possible. I went to our local thrift store for books and ended up uncovering a trunk of old sheet music. And when I say old, I mean OLD. These pages were not only gorgeous quality paper but had also already turned all those awesome shades of vintage people kill for. (okay, slight exaggeration but you get my point.) I cut a deal and walked out with a huge stack of music and a few old books for less than $20. Another $4 on floral wire and that was it. I already had a few random packs of darker tissue paper, a bottle of craft glue, and half a roll of masking tape. Brown craft paper would work well too. My main thought behind the materials is that depending on where you want to place the swag, the lighter it is the better. You want it to drape easily across a curtain rod without whoever put said curtain rod up fussing at you about breaking it. Just saying.

As far as the next two items on the list, they bring me to . . . 

Step 2: Make yourself a Drink

Not gonna lie, my best creative moments are usually alcohol enhanced. It just makes me braver. And craftier. And helps me think outside the box. I encourage you to try the same. Now don't get lit, there's nothing worse than a drunken craft, so that's where the fresca enters the picture. Get a nice glass, fill it with ice, and go half and half with a cheap Cab-Sav and the Fresca. Don't be a wine snob either. Wine snobs suck. So what if you've harnessed your palate to appreciate an $80 dollar bottle of wine? You can appreciate the $3.50 bottle from DG too. It's fabulously interesting (see the positive spin I did there?) and you won't feel guilty pouring it over ice or mixing it with Fresca. Because here is some free life advice: Fresca is God's gift to us and should be put into most things you drink. It makes orange juice bubbly, Marg-beer-ita's spritz-ier and sangria sparkle. And it has zero calories. What more could you want my little glitter-bug?  So drink up, and plant yourself on the floor in front of the t.v. and have Pride and Prejudice ready to go mainly because it is just a great movie and has a wonderful soundtrack with equally beautiful scenes and is basically one of my favorite movies. I like my crafting zone and encourage everyone to get to that happy place when tapping into your artsier/craftier side.

Step 3: Make Some Leaves

I may or may not have done mine the more complicated way but oh well. It made sense to me. I made two patterns and then, after tracing them onto a sheet of music, cut out the leaf shapes about 5 sheets at a time. The blogger said she cut them without a pattern individually, 5th grade style by folding the paper in half and making a generic leaf shape. I say to each his own. Whatever floats your boat, blows your skirt up, tickles your fancy, what have you. Just cut out a bunch of leaves. Full page size. Don't be afraid. Who cares if you waste music sheets. Like you actually play the piano anyhow. I kid, I kid.

(But as a side note, I did try to choose music that I knew wouldn't kill my mother since she does play. I picked a lot of Organ music. I mean, who likes organs anyhow?) 

And just when you think you have enough leaves, cut more. There's nothing worse than getting started into building your swag and having to stop and make more leaves. Trust me. I know. I got on a roll making my swag and had to postpone finishing it to another night so I could break out the music again and make more leaves. Agh.

Step 4: Attach "Stems"

Again, the inspiration photo blogger did her project a different way, but I like the idea of using floral wire because it is easier to manipulate each leaf to lay how you want and I also like wiring things together versus hot-gluing. (Hot glue and I have a love-hate relationship. I try to avoid it when possible.)





After folding each leaf in half length-ways, I drew a line of glue down the crease line.









Next I laid the floral wire into the crease, leaving a few inches from the top. Using my fingers, I slowly closed the leaf around the wire, sealing it inside the crease with the glue. Make sure to apply plenty of pressure so the wire bonds solidly into the paper crease.






Fight every urge you get to go ahead and fluff out your leaf! Just lay it aside and let the glue bond for a while before opening the leaf. The crease not only hides the wire but helps give the leaf a really pretty look. Patience grasshopper! It is worth the wait!

Once you've made several leaves, go back through them, starting with the first ones you glued, and carefully open the paper outward.

And ta-dah, you have a paper leaf ready for the vine!














Step 5: The Vine

I didn't take too many pictures of the vine itself because it really isn't more than a hint of color for the project. As I said before, I had an assortment of random dark tissue papers to use. Use what you can find. I would have used a brown paper sack if I needed to. It doesn't matter. Get creative. This is your project. Since I am going to be using this in my dining room I may tie is some turquoise shaded leaves eventually. who knows? It is your project so make it yours!

Simply take the tissue paper and roll it up length ways. Once rolled, twist it, working from end to end. It should look like a rough paper vine. Make a few of these and tape them together to your desired length. I'm wanting to use this across the top of a curtain so I needed mine long.

Once you have your vine, begin attaching the leaves. I looked back at my inspiration picture many times to get an idea of how the leaves should lay and what part I liked best. I liked the fuller look so my swag is pretty pumped up.




 One hard thing to really explain is how to wire them on with out the wire showing. The best way to think about it is to work from the edge of the vine inward. That way you are laying the new leaf on top of the older one, creating a layer effect and thus covering the wire. Practice a bit and you'll figure out what works best for you. This is the really fun part. Creating YOUR vine. I went nuts and it is huge and I just want to stare at it and make more and more for all my windows. Or maybe that's the wine talking.
Who knows but I like it so who cares!

My First Music Leaf Fall Swag

EXTRAS: Why stop at music leaves? If you can tell, I have added some of my favorite card stock paper left over from Stanton's baby scrapbook. I also added bits of curled burlap ribbon left over from a wreath project. The contrast of materials is a nice touch and I am definitely planning on adding a few paper flowers soon!




Hope you enjoyed and try a paper craft of your own soon! Or at least try a wine & Fresca spritzer!