Monolith / 01.04.2020

"Skeletonization" of leaves at home: a description of the different ways. Leaf skeletonization at home for beautiful leaf skeleton products

To create original ikebana using the scrapbooking technique, needlewomen often use leafy skeletons. Transparent, thin, openwork, like the wings of a dragonfly, the leaves always fascinate with their unearthly beauty. Such material can be purchased at a specialized store. Better yet, do the skeletonization of the leaves at home.

Popular ways

Crafts from skeletonized leaves are striking in their diversity. This material can decorate various postcards, wall panels. Most often, skeletonized leaves are used in the scrapbooking technique.

On a note! Only hard leaves are suitable for creating a skeleton, in particular, maple, walnut, oak.

There are three main ways to turn a green leaf into a skeleton:

natural;
wet;
dry.

In the first case, nature will do all the work for you. In autumn, the trees shed their leaves. First the leaves lie under heavy rains, then - under a layer of snow. As soon as nature pampers with the first spring rays of the sun, you need to collect the leaves. They are already softened. All you have to do is clean and dry them. But this method is not suitable for all needlewomen, since you have to wait more than one month.

The second way is dry. This option for harvesting skeletonized leaves is suitable if you urgently need one or two pieces. The sheet is thoroughly soaked in cold water, dry, and then scrape off the entire green part with a brush.

On a note! The brush must be made of natural bristles. Choose a brush with the maximum level of hardness.

The third method is wet, it is the most popular. For the preparation of skeletonized leaves, use baking soda, aggressive chemicals. It is about this method that we will talk in more detail today.

If you decide to do such an interesting type of needlework, first learn the technique of harvesting material. Skeletonization of leaves is not an easy process. But when you master the basics of preparing leaf skeletons, you can comprehend more complex ways, for example, create colored or transparent leaves.

The traditional way of skeletonizing leaves

Skeletonizing leaves with soda is one of the most popular ways to get rid of their green cover and leave only the skeleton and veins. Some needlewomen are skeptical about this method. But as they say, you never know if you don't try.

Advice! Experienced craftswomen advise choosing ficus or tangerine leaves for skeletonization. But Kalanchoe leaves are not suitable for these purposes, because they are too saturated with water.

10-12 Art. baking soda;
800-1000 ml of water;
brush;
cutting board;
leaves.

Advice! The darker the leaves become, the easier it will be for you to remove the skin from them.

Step by step description of the process:

Skeleton leaves using household chemicals

Check out another way to skeletonize leaves at home. The recipe is very simple. You will need a household cleaner. It can be any substance for clearing blockages in pipes or plumbing.

Required materials and tools:

cutting board;
leaves;
water;
brush;
household cleaning agent;
glass container with a volume of 0.5 liters.

On a note! The tool should completely cover the leaf.

Step by step description of the process:

On a note! When working with chemicals be sure to wear gloves. If you need to discolor the leaf and make it transparent, use regular bleach or Whiteness.

Attention! It is impossible to set an exact time frame. It all depends on the composition of the selected agent and the degree of its aggressiveness.

Skeletonization of leaves is a very long and laborious, but addictive and interesting process. Due to the action of water, air and chemicals, the pulp moves away from the leaflet, leaving only a delicate, openwork contour in the form of a leaf. Let's take a look at how you can make leaf skeletonization at home.

Skeleton methods

For skeletonization, only freshly picked leaves are suitable, you should not postpone the procedure for several hours, because if the leaf is sluggish, the desired effect may not work. If it is winter outside, then you can use a pre-prepared herbarium, since a skeletonized sheet can also be created from a dry blank.

After selecting the leaves, you must select the method of skeletonization. Currently, there are several methods for obtaining an openwork sheet mesh:

Mechanical or dry method;
soaking in water;
Wet way;
Chemical way.

Let's look at each of them in more detail in the master class.

Dry way

We use this method if we need to make one or two leaves. Of course, more blanks can be processed in this way, but it will take a huge amount of time, since one sheet will take 15-20 minutes.

We only need a brush to knock out the pulp. Pay attention to the pile, you can only use brushes with natural bristles. The tougher the better.

We put a piece of paper in front of us and start brushing it with a brush. Thus, we will separate the pulp from the veins, leaving only the frame we need.

This method can also be used for dried leaves, but it will turn out not wiry, but an openwork leaf.

soaking in water

In this way, leaf skeletonization occurs in nature. Pour water into a jar and put a sheet there. We close the lid and leave it in this state for a month. Carefully watching the process, because it is possible that the process will happen earlier.

When upper layer the leaf will depart, we take out the leaf and wash it under running water from the resulting mucus. Carefully remove the pulp with your hands or thin brushes of medium hardness.

You will get beautiful blanks. It remains only to dry in a dry place for two days. In this way, ficus leaves, for example, are beautifully obtained.

wet way

The wet method is used when it is necessary to create many leaves at the same time. We put the leaves in a pot of water and cover them with soda, per liter of water, one teaspoon. Fill with water and put on fire, cook the leaves for about half an hour.

After that, carefully take out the leaves one by one, put them on paper napkins with a brush or sponge, remove the pulp. We are proceeding very carefully. If there is excess moisture, then remove them with a napkin. We take out only one leaf at a time from the solution.

To align the resulting leaves, put them under the press. If you wish, you can color the resulting leaves with food coloring.

chemical method

The chemical method is similar to the wet method, only the leaves do not need to be boiled in it.

We soak the leaves in whiteness with water, in a ratio of 1: 1. When the leaves lose their pulp and turn white, they can be pulled out. To align the resulting leaves, put them under the press.

The result largely depends on the rigidity and thickness of the leaflet taken. Poplar, linden, oak, birch, aspen leaves and ficus leaves are best skeletonized.

Skeletons can be painted at several manufacturing stages:

In the process of separating the pulp with the help of whiteness and potassium permanganate;
When the leaf is dry, use watercolors, gouache, food coloring or spray cans.

We cover the finished product with varnish. We decorate as you like: sequins, rhinestones, beads and much more.

What are used for

Skeletonization of leaflets is only the first point. Then, with their help, you can create beautiful crafts with your own hands. Let's look at some of the most famous techniques using these leaflets.

One of these areas is the creation of paintings from leaves. To do this, take a ready-made background, draw branches or various patterns on it and glue skeletonized leaves. Thus, magical pictures are obtained.

Also, such leaves can themselves be a canvas for drawings, for artistic carving.

Another direction is texturing, in this case the leaves are used to give texture to other materials. An example of such work in the photo below:

The most beautiful thing is pressing such leaves with a press into paper, so you can create the most beautiful photo wallpapers.

And also the skeletons of the leaves are used for decoration in various techniques, for example, decoupage, scrapbooking. They are also used in jewelry.

Insanely beautiful things are obtained from the so-called "skeletonized" leaves. Actually, the most ordinary leaves from trees are taken for this purpose, but after the procedure they become much more interesting. The most important thing is that creating such crafts at home is a simple matter and even, to some extent, fascinating. Of course, you can also buy them ready-made. But not so interesting. Therefore, we learn and do it ourselves!

Ways to skeletonize leaves at home

I would like to make a reservation right away - do not use dubious recipes such as soaking in tea or boiling with washing soda (which is also difficult to find. Although, if ordinary soda - baking soda - is first baked in the oven ... but it is too laborious). Use only reliable, proven methods. Their types:

Natural;
Dry;
Wet;
Whitening.

And now more about each of them.

natural or natural way

Can you collect leaves? How about a herbarium? Then you will find those skeletonized by nature! Most often they are under the snow - during the winter they get wet and such skeletons remain. True, they are not so beautiful. But, again, - depending on what kind of craft! Here's what they look like after cleaning them up:

To make the leaves look decent, arrange this process at home. Put all the leaves you need in a jar of water and leave it there. Check in a couple of weeks - if the skin does not come off when rubbed, then leave it for some more time, no more than a month. When you feel that it has become soft and the skin peels off well, rub lightly under running water with a toothbrush until the entire top layer comes off. However, it is quite a long time to wait. Therefore, there are other methods.

Dry method of skeletonizing leaves at home

If the leaves are needed now, then this option is suitable. Useful brush with natural bristles. Leaves are fresh and soft. Not dried! They hit them with a brush. This is how it turns out:

And if you take dry ones, then like this:

Different, but interesting. Keep in mind: using a brush with artificial bristles, you will only be able to beat off dry leaves with it. The greens won't do anything. This method is fast, but each sheet takes a lot of time (and effort!), So read on.

Wet method - more difficult

Here you have to try. First, stock up on a powder cleaner - any chemistry, but tougher, such as cleaning powder sewer pipes. Secondly, the leaves must be boiled in this version. And this is a long time - boil hard leaves for about 3 hours, soft leaves - an hour. Pour the powder into the pan - 2-3 tablespoons that way.

Cooked leaves should become soft. The pulp should come off if you rub the leaf with force. This should be done in a bowl with warm water. So that your hands do not get tired from a long stay in the water and for an extra cleansing effect, put on rubber gloves with pimples. If the sheet was hard before cooking, then we put it on a wooden board and three small brushes with soft bristles (a toothbrush will do), wetting it with water.

Leaf bleaching

Discoloration is another way to "skeletonize". To do this, you need to hold fresh or boiled leaves in "Whiteness", diluted with water. 15 minutes is the maximum for fresh, 10 for wet processed.

Post-Processing

What to do with them next? First, dry in a fully expanded form. Secondly, iron. Tender leaves are boiled less and straightened out in a saucepan, with great care. Therefore, see for yourself - which material can be immediately ironed with an iron, without waiting for drying, and which - after drying. Know that the following species: plane tree, maple, birch, poplar, aspen, oak, linden, walnut, ficus, blueberry, mountain ash, alder - best and most amenable to "skeletonization". They make more beautiful specimens than others.

In principle, you can use the finished material in this way. But it would be nicer to paint it. In this case, spray cans of paint, which are sprayed on weight, will come in handy, protecting your hands with gloves.

Paint any color, but be sure to try gold and/or silver! It turns out gorgeous.

A detailed master class on the following video, which will teach you with step-by-step instructions:

A photo various works clearly show all the variety of uses in the art of skeletonized leaves. See how they can be designed, and what vast areas of needlework are covered:

The most common application is:

Crafts from skeletonized leaves in combination with other materials can be very original:

If you take ordinary plastic or polymer clay, cut in the shape of a skeletonized leaf and put it on top, after varnishing, then a beautiful decoration will be the most exclusive in your collection.

I really like the embellishments natural materials, and today I suggest you learn how to make colored skeletonized leaves. But first, see how you can use skeletonized leaves in decor.

Skeleton leaves can be decorated with sequins and beads, they can decorate any flower arrangement or become New Year's decor. as well as original accessories.

To make such earrings, in addition to skeletonized leaves, you must use.

Skeletonized leaves are used in a variety of surfaces.

With the help of skeletonized leaves, you can create a unique ornament

A rose made of skeletonized leaves will be the highlight of the decor in the house.

Skeleton leaf garland

So, let's start making skeletonized leaves. To do this, you need to collect leaves with identified veins. You can involve children in the cooking process, they will choose colors. Despite the fact that today you can buy artificial skeletonized leaves, many people prefer to make them with their own hands, because it is so cheap and more interesting. You can use any leaves for this.

So, in order to make colored skeletonized leaves, you will need the following materials:

Leaves
soda food
Toothbrush and brush
Food coloring
Paper towel

How to make leaf skeleton

First, collect the leaves. Try to collect leaves with coarse veins, such as oak, maple. However, you can try other leaves.

Fill a small saucepan with 2 cups of water and 3 tablespoons of baking soda. Place the foxes in a saucepan and leave to cook for at least two hours, periodically add soda.

When the leaves darken, you can remove them from the heat. Take the leaves out of the pot and set aside. Now you can start skeletonizing.

Remove the leaves and use a toothbrush to gently remove the pulp, then use the brush to finish removing the pulp from the leaves. Do everything carefully so as not to damage the skeleton of the leaves.

If you want to make a transparent sheet, then place it in a solution with bleach and water. Leave until the green color is completely gone. Let dry.

If you want to make multi-colored leaves, then place the leaves in a solution with food coloring.

Now you know how to make colored skeletonized leaves. You can use them for various purposes as a separate decoration or in compositions. Success in creative work!

Skeleton maple leaves

Skeletonized leaves are leaves that have only veins left. The soft tissues of the leaf (scientifically "epidermis") are removed different ways, and the so-called "skeleton" remains - an openwork mesh of veins.

Different types of venation

Skeleton leaves can be easily bought in a flower shop, in a florist shop, in a decor store... You can also order it in a shop. It's fast, simple, convenient. Another plus is that the store sells skeletons of trees that do not grow in our area. For example:

Leaves of religious ficus (ficus religiosa) or Bo tree (tree Bo), Bodhi, Banyan; pipal (Peepal or Pippal):

Ficus religious (Ficus religiosa)

Skeletonized Ficus Leaf ((Ficus religiosa)

Leaves of the rubber tree or Hevea brazilian (Hevea brasiliensis):

Rubber tree (Hevea)

rubber tree leaf

Magnolia leaves (Magnolia):

Magnolia (Magnolia virginiana L.)

Magnolia (Magnolia_acuminata)

Magnolia (Magnolia_acuminata) Mango leaves (Mangifera indica):

Mango (Mangifera L.)

However, buying leaves in the store is not always possible and not for everyone. Yes, and the choice is limited to only two or three types. It is much more interesting to make skeletons yourself!

There are many articles on the Internet on the topic of leaf skeletonization, but alas, all these articles are, in fact, just reprints of the same foreign master class. And not the best. Why not the best?

Firstly, boiling the leaves in washing soda is mentioned everywhere - not the best option, since not everyone can find this powder in their city. I didn't find it either, although I've been looking for a long time.
Secondly, this soda copes with very few leaves. Some of our craftsmen use instead washing soda food, but it works even worse, if not to say that it does not work at all. Yes, some leaves are skeletized, but even just boiling in hot water without any additives - soft, loose leaves, such as maple, this is enough. It is generally ridiculous to talk about soaking in green tea - complete nonsense.
Thirdly, there are much more effective and affordable means.

So how do you actually effectively skeletonize leaves?

There are several ways:

Dry
Wet
Natural
Chemical

Dry way

The dry method is good when you urgently need one or two skeletonized leaves. You are tormented to do more, since it takes about 15-20 minutes of vigorous action per sheet.

The method seems to be simple - take a brush and beat a leaf with it. But! Having bought a special brush with a comfortable handle and after working for about ten minutes with this brush over a leaf, I was very upset - I didn’t succeed! And all because the bristles on the brush were made of synthetics, and besides, not hard enough.

So remember - the brush should only be made of natural bristles, the pile is not too long. Please note - the stiffer the bristles, the better! You can buy such a brush in the market or in a hardware store, they are usually designed for cleaning clothes or shoes. By the way, you can attach a long handle yourself.

We take very fresh leaves, without spots and holes, lay them out on a newspaper and beat them with a brush. You will break the soft tissues of the leaf, leaving only the veins or the skeleton of the leaf! The method is ideal for maple leaves, sycamore, Benjamin's ficus, poplar, ivy, etc.

Skeletonized sycamore leaf

Press-dried leaves can also be used. In this case, you will get not a skeletonized leaf, but simply an openwork one - too interesting option. And here just the brush may not be very hard.

Leaf skeletonization

skeletal leaves

Natural skeletonization method

The leaves are wonderfully skeletonized in a natural way - that is, nature itself creates such leaves, you just need to notice and pick them up in time.

How does this happen? And here's how - the leaves get wet in the rain, under the snow, lie on the damp ground, they are trampled on with heels, so they turn into a net by themselves. I usually collect such leaves when the snow melts. Also, the leaves can be "eaten" by some insects:

skeletal leaves

In order not to rely on nature and not to wait for a suitable leaf to come across, we arrange a natural skeletonization of the house. Pour plain water into a jar and put the leaves there. Close the lid, leave alone for about a month. As a rule, a month is enough, but sometimes even less time is needed. Then we take out the leaves and watch how the flesh of the leaf departs. If the sheet is softened enough, rinse it under running water with three fingers so that all the mucus comes off.

I experimented with Benjamin Dunetti's ficus leaf, which had been in the water for a month. After that, it exfoliated, and I simply removed the film from it, which covers the sheet on both sides. It turned out to be a very soft and delicate skeletonized leaf (although initially ficus leaves are very hard). The structure resembles that of a dragonfly's wing, doesn't it?

And in this way it’s great to skeletonize physalis. These are such bright orange lanterns on a branch, florists love to use them to make bouquets of dried flowers.

In principle, the lanterns themselves are skewered, naturally on a bush (from rain and snow) - you just have to not miss the moment and collect them in time before they rot. And you can also put them in water and after a couple of weeks get ready-made "skeletons".

wet way

If you need a lot of leaves, it is most effective to skeletonize them in a wet way. Pour the leaves with water and add the Mole powder (pipe cleaner). In general, any aggressive household chemicals will do. You can take soda, of course, but I do not guarantee the result.

So, throw two or three tablespoons of the powder into the water and boil the leaves for several hours. For maple leaves, an hour is enough, for sycamore leaves (and other hard leaves) - two to three hours. Moreover, the smaller the plane tree leaf, the more time it needs to be cooked.

Next, we take out the leaves and wash them in a bowl of water. Three fingers to remove the pulp. Rubber gloves with pimples also help. If the pulp does not come off - cook more. Hard leaves need to be brushed with a toothbrush on wooden board. Wherein toothbrush constantly wet in water.

What kind of leaves oskeleize well? These are, first of all, maple leaves, plane trees. Poplar leaves (black or silver), birch, linden, aspen, oak, garden blueberry, walnut, alder, ficus leaves are excellent.

Skeletonized black poplar leaves

Skeletonized linden leaf

Skeletonized sycamore leaf

Skeletonized silver poplar leaf

Chestnut leaves are very delicate, but they can also be skeletonized. You just need to straighten them right in the water, and then get them already straightened, prying them with a saucer or a wooden spatula.

After skeletalizing, I leave the leaves to air dry. And then I just iron it with a warm iron. You can immediately put under the press, or immediately iron the wet leaves with an iron - that's how you want. It will not work to shift very flimsy leaves - you will tear or wrinkle. Let them dry first in a straightened form - the way you got them out of the water, and then transfer them wherever you want.

Chemical way

The chemical method - in fact, is also, in fact, wet. But here you do not boil or boil anything. Just fill the leaves with bleach (“Whiteness” will do) in half with water and wait. As they turn white - pull out, rinse. It turns out a white transparent leaf. You can also beat with a brush. And you can skeletonize the leaves by boiling and then bleach - it will turn out generally like the thinnest white lace - very beautiful.

Well, now the most important question - why did we actually do all this? Why are they needed, these skeletonized leaves?

First of all, such leaves are beautiful in themselves. And very unusual. An openwork cobweb made of veins, a transparent sheet, soft, as if made of fabric ... Of course, such a creation of nature undoubtedly attracted the attention of a person with artistic taste.

Here, for example, the artist Irina Ivi covers skeletonized leaves with gold or silver paint, then collects them into a composition in the form of a branch and seals them between two glasses. It turns out a very unusual transparent picture, in the depths of which weightless leaves mysteriously shimmer...

From lacy, openwork leaves, you can make interior dishes! The artist Kay Sekimachi was so impressed by the beauty of the skeletonized leaves that she decided to use them to create simple, yet very effective bowls and vases. And the fact that all these thousand dollar (!) vases have already been sold out clearly indicates that the audience appreciated the natural beauty of the skeletons:

You can also draw on skeletonized leaves! In ancient India, paper has always been expensive, and with leaves they grew everywhere and completely free. So the masters guessed to use foliage instead of paper. The leaves were processed by long soaking in water (wet method). It turned out an interesting material, thin, but at the same time durable. Then the skeletons were painted and sold.

And here is how the modern Kochetova Nadezhda draws:

Kochetova Nadezhda "Red Beauty"

Kochetova Nadezhda "Joy"

Kochetova Nadezhda "Song"

Kochetova Nadezhda Barn Owl

What is there to draw! Feather applications can be made on the leaves:

You can make miniature straw applications:

You can even print photos!

Do you think that's all? It would seem, well, how else is it possible to create paintings on leaves, and even skeletonized ones? Are there other options? Oddly enough, but there is! It turns out that images can be created on ordinary leaves by partially skeletonizing them! The way it is done in China: plane tree leaves (they are called "plane trees" there) are boiled in a special solution, and then the leaf is removed with a knife to the veins according to the sketch.

Leaf Carving Art

You can also embroider on skeletonized leaves! See what a gentle spring picture you get:

You can use them in patchwork or quilt (patchwork) as one of the elements of a complex background:

Gisele Blythe

Deborah Gregory

You can also use skeletons in felting - decorate imitated wool surfaces - felted scarves, dresses, hats, bags ... For example, the way Lyubov Voronina from the city of Ivanovo does it:

Lyubov Voronina

Eco-friendly wallpaper with a unique decor is made from skeletonized leaves. After all, each sheet is unique in itself!

They also make decorative paper:

Skeletons decorate postcards, albums (scrapbooking), passport covers, etc.:

Present self made(Catherine)

[email protected](irochka84) "Envelope for money"

Evgenia (kjane) "Eco-postcard"

Marina Fazylova (m-tomcat) Passport Cover

They decorate the interior, wedding bouquets, napkins:

Bridal bouquet

Love (luba-pol) Wedding bouquet "Air mood"

Festive napkin

Skeleton leaves are great for decoupage of vases, cups, boxes, watches, etc.:

TARI (tari-elkiotter) Cup with skeletons

N@stenk@ Vase "Leaves in ice"

Elena Efremova (zzorik.ru) Cup with skeletons

Olga Koshkina (xsanf) Physalis salad bowl

Zuli Watch "Autumn Breath"

Murashka (Smile at your home) Wall clock and napkin holder

Oksana Mineeva (Kseniya) Hedgehog in the Fog Watch

Oksana Mineeva (Kseniya) Decorative plate "Hedgehogs"

For decoupage or felting lamps:

Skeleton vase

Wool "Skeleton lampshade"

Skeleton night light

Lampshades with skeletons

Mironova Inna (various colors) Lamp "Autumn Forest"

Lamps with skeletons

In addition, they create jewelry in various ways.

For example, pour skeletons epoxy resin Earrings, rings, necklaces...

DarKera Necklace "Leaves" magic tree»

"Pendant with skeleton"

NATURE IN A DROP (smolka-uvelira)

Anastasia Arinovich (bisenkan) Ice Leaf Pendant

Creative workshop "Mastyushka" Pendant "Autumn leaf"

NATURE IN A DROP (smolka-uvelira) Rings

Anastasia Arinovich (bisenkan) Earrings

Or they electroplated the skeletonized sheet with gold, silver or copper, creating a metallic patina of iridescent colors. It turns out amazing and unique in its beauty pendants ...