Fall Plaster Leaves…

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Happy Monday…We trust that y’all had a great weekend! Today we bring youĀ another “Rewind” post from last year. This was a very popular craft post that I made for my fall tablescape last year. Enjoy!

Lately Iā€™ve been obsessed with decor elements in white ā€“ just a little here and there. Ā Being that it is now Fall, I wanted to do a craft project using white in my Fall tablescape. Ā I went to Dollar Tree and purchased some silk leaves.Ā  I was pleasantly surprised at the decor selection that they had.Ā  I need to remember to shop here more. Ā I purchased a bag of 20 Fall leaves for $1.00 ā€“ what a great deal. Ā I was thinking that I could transform the leaves in some way to be white. Ā I tried and failed at painting one leaf with white craft paint. Ā The paint soaked into the silk and the color ran. Ā Yuckā€¦

I really wanted the leaves to have kind of a pottery or bisque texture to them. Ā I then went to Hobby Lobby and found craft plaster.Ā  It is a white powder compound in containers that are 4 or 8 pounds. Ā I purchased the 8 pound container and used a 40% off coupon.

Pottery plaster used for silk Fall leaves

I followed the directions on the back of the plaster container Ā (the 2nd time) and mixed it in a container I found in the garage. Ā I stirred the mixture very well until there werenā€™t any lumps.

Mix plaster compound and water to coat silk Fall leaves

DO NOT be tempted to do what I did on my first batch of plaster. Ā I operate on a more-is-better system and thought it would be a great idea to double the recipe. Ā That was an absolute failure. Ā This plaster hardens very quickly and is impossible to use after several minutes. Ā Your bucket will look like thisā€¦

Do not be tempted to double the plaster recipe :)

I did this project at my kitchen table. Ā I laid out vinyl table cloths to protect my table. Ā  I then covered the vinyl tablecloths with waxed paper to lay out the plaster-covered leaves for drying.

Silk Fall leaves ready for plaster coatingI used a paintbrush to spread the plaster onto the leaves. Ā Again, I worked very quickly as the plaster sets fast.

Start painting the plaster on the Fall leaves

I covered each leaf front and back. Ā By drying the leaves on waxed paper it was very easy to peel them off with no cracking or damage to the plaster. Ā The plaster was dry to the touch after about ten minutes. Ā I didnā€™t move them for 2 hours to be sure that they were completely dry.

Let the plaster dry on the silk Fall leaves

And this is what the completed leaves look likeā€¦

Finished plaster Fall leaves

What do yā€™all think of the plaster leaves? Ā They are still lightweight and very smooth to the touch.

Make your own plaster leaves. Start by using silk Fall leaves from the Dollar Store and add plaster of Paris.

Let the plaster dry on the silk Fall leaves

Stay tuned to see how I will be decorating with my new leaf collection!

21 Comments

  1. You two are amazing! I am seriously in love with and am planning to steal this idea! Genius!

  2. I want these for my table! And I know now to follow the directions, based on your tip to follow the directions šŸ™‚ I would solo have done the same thing! A project that is clever (and funny). Bwg ~~~

    1. Hi Bobbi! Yes, always follow directions…you would think I would know this by now šŸ™‚

  3. I can’t believe how cool this is! You are genius! I’m looking around my house right now trying to find something to use this on. Imagine this plaster effect with a little Miss Mustard Seed glass glitter for Christmas…awesome!

  4. Omg how cute are those?? I had no idea you could add plaster to anything, well I guess I knew you could but never knew how!! Awesome tutorial!!!

  5. Such a beautiful and unique Fall
    craft! Love this!

  6. Very creative and looks great in the dining room

  7. cool idea! I would have never thought to do that!

    1. Hey Tonya – Thanks so much…we like to try to use Plaster of Paris on a lot of things. We were so happy that this project turned out šŸ™‚

  8. CAN THESE BE PAINTED? and, if so, what kind of paints can be used? thank you so much for you answer and for this wonderful fall idea.

  9. Can these plastered leaves be painted? If so, what kind of paints can be used? Thanks for your anticipated answer and your great craft idea.

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