The arrival of autumn is
Thanksgiving is one of my favorite festivals of the year. The countryside reminds me of a canvas of a painter. Motif of simple autumn leaves and acorns are taken to decorate the dining table. The rich colors look different but beautiful. I have decided to use a simple faux background for walls and furniture.

TOOLS AND MATERIALS

You need:

Materials

• Canvas table runner
• Foam craft roller- 3 inches
• Delta renaissance foil system
• Glazing medium
• Grocery bag (plastic)
• Tracing paper
• Pencil
• Graphite paper- white
• Stylus
• Varnish
• No.1 Jackie Shaw liner brush
• No.5 round brush
• Old warm brush- ½ inch
• Angular brush- 3/8 inch
• Angular brush- ½ inch
• Wash/glaze brush- ¾ inch

1. Prepare and Basecoat Canvas
   Use a 3 inch foam craft roller to basecoat the canvas surface with Golden Brown. Wait for the paint to dry before mixing a glaze of two parts glazing medium with one part Georgia clay. Use ¾ inch wash/glaze brush to brush this glaze in workable sized areas.
   
   
2. Texture Surface
   Use a plastic grocery bag to cover your hands. The bag has to be placed over the glazed area. Use your hand to press down before gently lifting the bag. The more crumpled the bag, the more texture you will get. Brush on more glaze, overlap if needed, and do the texturing process again over the entire surface. Dry the surface.
   
   
3. Transfer Pattern
   To trace on your leaf and acorn pattern in a striking grouping, utilize white graphite paper and a stylus.
   
   
4. Share Leaves
   Use ½ inch angular brush to paint the leaves. Shade some of the leaves randomly with Moroccan red. Make C strokes on the leaves as well.
   
   
5. Apply More Shading
   Use Dark Jungle Green to make the same random strokes on the leaves.
   
   
6. Blend Colors
   Use Antique gold to add additional C-strokes. To give it a better look and blend the colors, overlap the strokes of various colors. It will help the leaves to look even more beautiful and natural.
   
    
7. Add Georgia Clay
   Put in C-strokes of Georgia clay and overlap the strokes to combine the colors.
   Any leaf can have multiple colors as these colors are applied randomly.
   
   
8. Deepen Colors
   Add small shades of dark colors at the base of each leaf. Add Gamal Green to Dark Jungle Green areas. Add Barn Red to Moroccan Red areas. Cover only the base of the leaf. No need to cover all the red and green areas.
   
   
9. Add Highlights
   Try lighter colors at the tips of the leaves. It will highlight the leaf colors. Add Light Foliage Green to Dark Jungle Green areas. Put in Butter Yellow to Antique Gold areas.
   
   
10. Add Veins  
    Load a no.1 Jackie Shaw liner brush with Gamal Green and draw vein lines on all leaves.
    
    
11. Basecoat Acorns
    Apply coat at the base of the acorns with a round brush ((no. 5). Spice brown and Tail Tan colors are used on the caps and bottoms respectively.
    
    
12. Add Comma Strokes
    Side load a 3/8-inch angular brush and apply Spice Brown just below the caps on top of the Train Tan part of each and every acorn. At the lower right side of each acorn, apply butter yellow using Jackie Shaw liner (no. 1).
    
    
13. Add Crosshatching
    Apply short highlight strokes to the acorn stems and crosshatching on the caps with same liner and Antique Gold. Deepen the strokes with Butter Yellow at the center of the crosshatching. It should shine.
    
    
14. Apply Adhesive to Border
    Apply a glue border with foil adhesive with ¼ inch old worn brush. Apply the second coat after the adhesive is dried. Then allow it to dry.
    
    
15. Place Foil Over Adhesive
    Lay a foil piece over the glue and the dull side should be facing down. Don't forget to rub briskly with fingers. Excess foil should be removed, put it on the other portion of adhesive and repeat. Reapply glue on the area which you have missed. Reapply on the foil sheet after allowing it to dry. After you are done, apply varnish on the whole piece. Varnish should be applied at the back of the canvas as well. It would remove any remaining stickiness from the spray adhesive.
    
    Mix things up!
    Your family members and guests will be amused to see fall leaves and acorns. If you wish then you can paint this simple design on candlesticks and napkin holders. I bought some pumpkins to decorate the center of the table. It looks nice with the leaves and acorns. You can always try to use wooden pumpkins. Embellish the astonishing design by using green, orange, yellow candles and napkins.
    
    Helpful Hint
    Use one color over the surface, then apply next color and repeat the process. Use all the palette colors.

More Crafts:
Indian Selections | General

Wishes for Facebook