Skeletonized leaves are those in which, when the colored pulp is removed, one “skeleton” remains in the form of veins. Otherwise, such leaves are called skeletons or skeletonized. Skeleton leaves are used in design and floristry. They also serve as a good help when creating flower arrangements, collages, panels. Examples of work are impressive:

Therefore, spend a little time collecting leaves so that on a free evening you can dream up and bring to life any composition you have in mind.

">

For makingskelitized leavesIt is better to use leaves of plants with a high wax content (maple, poplar). Skeletonization is based on the following principle: using special methods, soft tissue is destroyed, while the veins remain intact. How to make skeletonized leaves? There are several answers to this question. You can choose the method you like from those suggested below.

Method 1

This method is the simplest. The sheet must first be dried between a paper pad (the so-called flat method). The prepared sheet is placed on a piece of rubber and tapped with a clothes brush. Tapping is done carefully, lightly. With this method, the dry tissue will disintegrate, but the “skeleton” of veins will remain. The remaining frame can be used to compose compositions or drawn up on a sheet of paper and placed in a frame:

Method 2

This method takes longer. Skeletonization is done using water. We immerse the leaf in water and leave it in it for several weeks. Gradually, the leaf tissue will disintegrate, leaving only the frame. The resulting frame must be removed from the water and rinsed thoroughly and gently under running water. The resulting material should be dried skeletonized leaf between paper (it is better to use filter paper).

Method 3

If desired, the process of leaf skeletonization can be accelerated. To do this, you need to boil the leaves in a soda solution. The solution is prepared according to the following recipe:

• soda – 90 g;
• lime – 40 g;
• water – 1 l.

If you need a larger amount of solution, then follow these proportions.

Mix the necessary ingredients and boil for 10 minutes. The leaves are boiled, the procedure takes an average of 1 hour. Leaves must be turned over regularly. When water evaporates, it must be added periodically.

Bleaching skeletonized sheet

Made by you skeletonized leaf can be bleached. For this purpose, bleach is used. The veined skeleton must be soaked in a bleach solution. Solution recipe:

• bleach – 8 g;
• water – 1 l.

In order for the sheet to bleach, it must be in the prepared solution for about 15 minutes. Then it is taken out and washed clean water, dry.

From the resulting leaves you can make. Skeletons can be used to decorate boxes, dishes and even clothes. If desired, the leaves are painted, covered with gold, silver or another color.

IN lately making various crafts from natural materials, including skeletonized leaves. Such leaves are sold in craft stores, but you can easily make them yourself. Skeletonization of leaves at home can be done in various ways. Details are in the master class for beginners below.

Skeletonized leaves are dried plant leaves with the epidermis removed. All that remains of them are veins, which is why the process of skeletonization is sometimes called “venation.” This process can be carried out using dry and wet methods.

Dry skeletonization

1. One of the options for the dry venation method is mechanical. It lies in the fact that fresh leaves using a special brush for skeletonizing or a regular brush with hard bristles, beat until the soft tissue is completely removed. However, this method is the least effective, because the leaves look sloppy after mechanical action, and the epidermis is not completely removed. In addition, in this way you can skeletonize only one or two leaves, since this requires a fairly large amount of time. In this way you can process maple, ivy, and ficus leaves.
2. The natural way. Drying and crumbling of fallen leaves under the influence of natural external conditions can also be attributed to the dry venation method. Many leaves and fruits are perfectly skeletonized in this way; for example, naturally aged physalis turns out very beautifully.

Wet skeletonization

Skeletonization with aggressive household chemicals is the most in an efficient way. Collected fresh leaves are placed in a waste container, filled with water and added 2-3 tablespoons of pipe cleaner powder or other potent household product. The container is placed on fire and boiled for several hours. For small and soft leaves 1 hour of exposure is enough high temperature, hard and large leaves require boiling for 2-3 hours or more. The cooled leaves are washed in large quantities water, removing the pulp with your fingers or a brush. Sometimes re-cooking is required. The result can be seen in the photo below.

This way the leaves of poplar, maple, birch, hazel, and linden are perfectly processed. The skeletonized leaves are air dried and ironed with a lukewarm iron.

An interesting way to process leaves is to bleach them white. Natural materials become transparent and acquire an unusual white color. To do this, you need to mix water and “Whiteness” in a 1:1 ratio and place the leaves in this mixture. No heating required. Discoloration occurs within 10-30 minutes depending on the type of plant.

Some masters suggest skeletonizing with soda. To do this, the leaves are boiled in water with the addition of a significant amount of baking soda. Unfortunately, only some soft plants with thin veins can be veined using this method.

Skeleton leaf crafts

The processed leaves are beautiful in themselves, but they are especially good for making various crafts. Below is a master class on decorating a mug and making an original painting.

Mug decorated with leaves

A simple glass mug can be decorated with small skeletonized leaves.

To do this, treat the outer surface of the mug with nail polish remover to degrease it. Using decoupage varnish, glue 2-3 leaves, glued and pre-painted, onto the mug. It is best to remove the branches. When the varnish is completely dry, the excess around the glued leaves must be carefully scraped off.

On free space Between the leaves, if desired, you can apply patterns using contours to create stained glass windows. After decorating is completed, we leave the product to air dry for about a day, after which we fire it in the oven. After firing, the mug can be used. It is not recommended to wash the external surface with abrasive products.

Skeleton leaf painting

Natural materials make very stylish and unusual crafts, including paintings that can fit perfectly into a modern interior.

To make such a picture you will need a base white(this could be a piece of plain white paper), some simple shaped skeletonized leaves, paint, glitter and thread.

1. We paint the leaves in 1-2 layers with acrylic paints. Some leaves can be made monochromatic, while others can have smooth color transitions.
2. After drying, glue the leaves onto the surface of the picture using any transparent glue. We decorate the leaves with sparkles, beads or half-beads.
3. We cut off pieces of dark-colored threads and glue them onto the picture to the tails of each sheet, similar to balloons.
4. After the glue has dried, the picture can be framed if desired.

We suggest you take a look detailed videos lessons on different methods of leaf skeletonization and making interesting crafts with your own hands.

From ancient times to the present day, a variety of products self made decorated with natural patterns. Intricate interweaving of herbs and flowers, berries and leaves often make a handmade household item a real work of art. Beautiful flowers and leaves can be drawn or embroidered; crafts using a real leaf look even more impressive. But a freshly picked or dried leaf is not always harmonious with the intended product in color and texture. But the thin openwork base of the leaf, which preserves its veins, can be a real decoration of the thing. To obtain such a base, leaves are skeletonized.

Where to get skeletonized sheets for crafts

Considering that such leaves are a very popular element of needlework and decoration today, trade quickly responded to the existing demand. In specialized stores (florists or handicrafts) they can offer you an openwork base of a wide variety of leaves.

If you can’t do without a sheet exotic wood, you can probably find a suitable copy in the store.

But you can prepare such a sheet yourself, at home. We will tell you how this can be done.

First you need to select the leaves for this process. What leaves can be skeletonized? Almost any. Will you walk with your child in the park or on personal plot, collect those sheets of paper that you liked. Of course, leaves with beautiful shape: maple, oak, linden, chestnut leaves. But also all other forest leaves or garden trees, fruit bushes, which you want to save in a craft will also work!

Methods for skeletonizing leaves

For leaf skeletonization, fresh, just picked leaves are suitable. If you decide to prepare leaves for crafts and find ones you like, keep in mind that it is better to start the process immediately after your walk, without delaying for several hours. When the leaf becomes very lethargic, and the necessary experience is not enough, the result may not immediately coincide with the expectation.

If you need an openwork outline in winter, when you can no longer bring back any leaves from a walk, a herbarium can help out. Because such a sheet can be made using dry blanks.

Having selected the leaves, you need to choose the method that will be used to obtain an openwork mesh from a regular leaf.

There are several recipes for making such leaves:

1. Mechanical (dry skeletonization);
2. Soaking in water;
3. Application chemicals.

Let's take a closer look at each of them.

Methods for skeletonizing leaves

To obtain an openwork mesh base of the sheet, it needs to be “freed” from soft tissues. Skeletonizing leaves at home can be done in different ways.

Mechanical skeletonization

With the dry method, the leaf is cleared of green matter mechanically. To do this, you need a brush with hard, preferably natural, bristles. You can use an unused clothes or shoe brush for this.

Placing the leaf on a paper or rubber base, lightly hitting it with a brush, gradually and carefully remove the greens from the leaf.

This is a rather labor-intensive process that takes time, and experienced needlewomen do not use it as their main method.

Soaking leaves in water

If a craft requires not one, but more leaves, it is better to use another method by first soaking the leaves in water. This skeletonization option takes a long time. You won’t be able to use it if you decide to make a handmade gift for tomorrow. But preparing “skeletons” of leaves in advance in order to devote winter evenings to your favorite hobby using this method is a smart idea.

Pour water into a saucepan or large cup, put the leaves you like in there, and leave the container for a couple of weeks. (You can change the water carefully!)

You will notice that the disintegrated sheet tissue is peeling away from its base. This base is carefully removed, washed in clean water, and dried. To ensure that the sheet frame is even, you can dry it between sheets of paper. The dried leaf is ready!

Using chemicals

To make the process of skeletonizing a sheet take less time, you need to use not just clean water, and add to it substances that accelerate the effect.

The soda solution, which is useful for cleaning leaves from green tissue, must be saturated. To do this, add 10 to 15 tablespoons of soda to 1 liter of water, and then boil the solution for about 10 minutes. The leaves are “cooked” in this solution for about 1 hour, occasionally stirring gently. You need to make sure that during this time there is a sufficient amount of liquid in the pan. Therefore, when it boils, you need to add water again.

After boiling the leaves for a sufficient time, they need to be carefully removed and placed on flat surface and remove soft leaf tissue. The green mass separates easily, and an openwork weave appears before us.

The process is accelerated by adding household chemicals to the water, which are usually used for cleaning pipes, cleaning bathtubs and toilets, or bleach. There is no need to boil with this method; just add the “chemistry” to a container of water.

The duration of the effect in this case depends on what kind of product and in what quantity you have at hand.

When it becomes obvious that the greens have become soft enough and have begun to separate, the standard procedure is repeated. The leaves are carefully removed from chemical solution and washed thoroughly with water. Remains of soft tissue are cleaned off with a brush, and then the sheet is dried. You can dry it open method, or you can do it under pressure, in which case it will become smoother.

So, the openwork sheet is prepared at home. In this form, it can be immediately used for crafts. But you can extend the processing further, this will give the leaf a special charm and originality, and you will get different leaves, which will make the craft unique.

With this treatment, you can change the resulting natural color of the skeletonized sheet. If you bleach the sheet, its brownish tint will disappear, and the openwork mesh will become white.

This can be achieved by lowering the sheet frame into a special chlorine solution. Add a little (8 g) bleach to 1 liter of water. It is not necessary to keep the leaf base in this solution for long (about 15 minutes). The leaf frame that has turned white is washed and dried again.

Or maybe a multi-colored openwork of leaves! To do this, they are simply painted using different ways staining. You can use the usual watercolors or gouache, or even food coloring. If you have a can of aerosol paint on hand, feel free to use that too! And in a few minutes you will have a gold and silver leaf ready!

Crafts using skeletonized leaves

Having received a beautiful leaf openwork, you can simply admire the results of your labor. But the best thing is to use these sheets in a variety of crafts.

Together with your children you can decorate objects in the apartment or summer house, prepare an exclusive gift for your family.

Using skeletonized leaves is not only pleasant, but also useful for the child. The development of imagination and fine motor skills, perseverance and accuracy is what a child will receive by doing crafts.

Here are some ideas for your creativity:

You can decorate a gift card, giving it uniqueness, if you use one or more skeletonized leaves in its design. Having beautifully arranged the leaves, they are glued and the surface is varnished.

You can also decorate a gift notebook, book cover, paper folder and other things for children and adults.

With your help, your child will be able to make an unusual gift for his grandmother or other family members. An ordinary glass goblet or vase will be made unique if you decorate it with multi-colored skeleton leaves. Relatives will be delighted, and your child will feel joy, having managed to please loved ones.

In the same way, you can decorate the interior of a kitchen, hallway or nursery. Try this while on vacation in the country, and after gaining the necessary experience, try it in your apartment. Use a repeating foliage motif on doors, furniture, individual items, it will add style to your interior!

Original vases from skeletonized leaves Skeleton leaf decoration

Now you have become aware of another type of preserving a piece of nature - skeletonizing leaves, it doesn’t sound pretty, but the result is amazing. Walk with your children, do creativity with your child, your life will become more interesting and brighter!

Skeletonizing leaves at home: master classes and recipes

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

Crafts made from skeletonized leaves amaze with their diversity. This material can be used to decorate various cards, wall panels. Most often, skeletonized leaves are used in the scrapbooking technique.

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

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

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

The second method is dry. This option for preparing skeletonized leaves is suitable if you urgently need one or two pieces. Thoroughly soak the leaf in cold water, dry it, and then scrape off all the green part with a brush.

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. Baking soda and aggressive chemicals are used to prepare skeletonized leaves. It is this method that we will talk about in more detail today.

Skeletonization of leaves: master class

If you decide to do this interesting view handicrafts, first learn the technique of preparing material. Skeletonization of leaves is not an easy process. But when you master the basics of preparing leaf skeletons, you will be able to comprehend more complex ways, for example, create colored or transparent leaves.

Traditional way of skeletonizing leaves

Skeletonizing leaves with soda is one of the most popular ways of removing their green cover and leaving only the skeleton and veins. Some needlewomen are skeptical about this method. But as they say, if you don’t try, you won’t know.

Advice! Experienced craftswomen It is recommended to choose ficus or tangerine leaves for skeletonization. But Kalanchoe leaves are not suitable for these purposes, since they are too saturated with water.

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

Step-by-step description of the process:

Leave the remaining leaves in the soda solution.

Do not turn off the stove, let the leaves cook on low heat.

We hold the leaf by one edge and begin to carefully remove the skin with a brush. Use a brush with coarse, stiff bristles.

Peel the skin from both sides. This is what we end up with.

Place the leaves on a paper napkin and dry them carefully.

Place the dried leaves on paper.

Cover them with another sheet of paper on top and place them under a press for one hour.

Then take acrylic paint desired color and a hard brush. Carefully color the leaves. Distribute the dye evenly.

Leave the painted leaves in a secluded place until the paint dries completely.

We skeletonize leaves using household chemicals

Check out another way to skeletonize leaves at home. The recipe is very simple. You will need household chemicals. This can be any substance used to clear clogs in pipes or plumbing.

Required materials and tools:

• cutting board;
• leaves;
• water;
• brush;
• household cleaning product;
• glass container with a volume of 0.5 l.

Note! The product should completely cover the leaf.

Step-by-step description of the process:

We put it on protective gloves, remove the sheet from the solution.

We wash it carefully running water, dry and keep under pressure for one hour.

Paint the leaf with acrylic paint of the desired color.

We got such beautiful openwork leaves.

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

Attention! It is impossible to establish an exact time frame. It all depends on the composition of the chosen product and the degree of its aggressiveness.

Each needlewoman chooses a suitable method for skeletonizing leaves. Skeletonization of leaves using household chemicals is still considered more effective. Boiling leaves in a soda solution has one drawback - you will dirty the stove. Such leaves can be prepared for future use and then stored under pressure in a dry place. Be careful when handling skeletonized leaves as they are very fragile. I wish you creative success!

Dear readers, we will be glad to accept your gratitude, as well as criticism and any comments. Together we make this site better.

Now is the time to start skeletonizing and preserving leaves and plants! Below the cut is a selection of products using skeletonized leaves, 4 skeletonization recipes, 1 preservation recipe, and a master class on making a plate.

Skeletonized leaves are leaves from which the flesh has been removed and only the veins remain. Preserved (stabilized) plants are plants that retain their flexibility and color. These plants and leaves are widely used in interior design and gifts, bouquets, scrapbooking and cardmaking. It will be very interesting for activities with children.

Mug decorated with skeletonized leaves.

Skeleton physalis

Decoration

Vase KAY SEKIMACHI - “RUST LEAF” and “GREEN LEAF”, used Skeleton Leafs surprise with their price - $1,000.

Drawings on leaves

Applications with straws

Wallpaper made of skeletonized leaves on a non-woven base, price from 4,000 rubles per roll

Skeletonized physalis branch

And now a few recipes for skeletonizing leaves. The simplest one in my opinion:
Skeleton leaves
In a bowl of water, dilute bleach (for example, "Whiteness") and soak the sheet in it until it turns white.
Then rinse the leaf and carefully remove the pulp with a brush or scrape reverse side knife until only veins remain.
Rinse the sheet and blot with a napkin. Leave to dry.
For skeletonization, choose large, healthy leaves. Leaves of oak, laurel, maple, ivy, poplar, and magnolia are suitable.

Second option
See how Lola advises doing this procedure. The following are the words of the author

For work we will need:

Baking soda (the kind used for washing)
- Water
- Toothbrush
- saucepan
- and the leaves themselves (Try to choose strong and even ones).

The procedure is as follows:
- Prepare a saturated soda solution.
- Then we immerse our leaves in the prepared solution and boil for 40 minutes to 1.5 hours. To speed up this operation, I use a pressure cooker (cooking time is reduced to 20-40 minutes).
- We wash the leaves, fill them with plain water and cook for another 20-30 minutes in a pressure cooker or 40-60 minutes in a regular saucepan (I would like to note that the cooking time may vary. This depends on the hardness of the leaves. At the end of cooking you should get brown-black leaves).

We take one leaf out of the saucepan and carefully scrape off its pulp with a toothbrush. If the pulp does not yield, cook this leaf for some more time, and while it is cooking, work on another leaf.

If during work you tear a leaf a little, do not throw it away, complete the cleaning, rinse and place it on the table so that the tear is not visible. After drying, you will not see the flaw.
So, we wash the leaf thoroughly and get this skeleton. It can be ironed or placed in a book.

We do the same with subsequent leaves.
When they are dry, they can be painted. (I use spray paint)
You can bleach the leaves using chlorine-containing products. Be very careful!!!
By the way, do not pour out the liquid remaining from the leaves (the one in which the leaves were boiled without soda). If you evaporate it a little, you will get excellent sepia ink. I don’t know how durable they are and whether they will be suitable for calligraphy, but they are ideal for aging paper.

So, the leaves are dry. Let's start painting.

I use chrome effect spray paint. In my arsenal there is gold, silver and holographic.

Today I played around with silver and gold paints

After drying, I got leaves like this:

Skeletonization of leaves master class from Marat Ka

The video shows a leaf skeletonization master class from Baba Lena.

Vase with gilding

You will need:
clear glass dishes or plates
skeletonized leaves
white and gold acrylic paints in a cylinder
glue for glass, porcelain, ceramics
1. Cover the leaves from the balloon with white and gold paint. We glue them to the back of the plate/dish, for example, on one plate only white leaves, on the other - only gilded ones.
2. Apply a small layer of glue to the back of the plate and bake it in the oven, following the instructions on the tube of glue. If you are going to use the plates only for decorative purposes, then they do not need to be fired.
3. Paint the back of the plate with spray paint. We painted the plate with the white leaves gold and the plate with the gold leaves white.

The leaves used here are canned (not scaled)!!!

And here they are canned too!
Preservation with glycerin
Dilute glycerin with boiling water at a ratio of 1:2.
Place the harvested plants in the solution and place them in a cool, dark place for 1–2 weeks.
Remove the leaves and place them on paper napkin let it dry and then hang it up to dry completely.
The leaves will remain elastic and will hold tightly to the branch, which will allow them to be shaped and glued to uneven surfaces.
In this way, you can preserve even thick branches, preserving the berries.

To stabilize flowers or a whole bouquet, you need to dilute a solution of regular glycerin and water at room temperature in a 1:1 ratio, after which you need to put the flowers you want to stabilize in it.
Then, every day for a week, you need to trim the stems of the plant a little. After seven days, prepare a fresh solution of water and glycerin and place flowers in it. There is no need to trim the stems this time. Two weeks will be enough for stabilization. In this case, the leaves and flower buds may slightly change their color, but this will only make the flowers look more original and unusual.
Many variations of leaves and uses

Skeletonized leaves are those leaves from which only veins remain. Soft fabrics The leaves (scientifically “epidermis”) are removed in various ways, and what remains is the so-called “skeleton” - an openwork mesh of veins. In this lesson I will show and tell you how to make such leaves at home.

Skeleton leaves can be easily purchased in a flower shop, florist shop, decor store... You can also order it in an online store. 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 ficus religiosa or tree Bo, Bodhi, Banyan; peepal (Peepal or Pippal):

Leaves of the rubber tree or Hevea brasiliensis:

Magnolia leaves:

Mango leaves (Mangifera indica):

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

There are a lot of articles on the Internet on the topic of skeletonizing leaves, but alas, all these articles are essentially just reprints of the same foreign master class. And not the best. Why not the best?

Firstly, boiling leaves in washing soda is mentioned everywhere - not the best good option, since not everyone can find this powder in their city. I didn’t find it either, although I searched for a very long time.
Secondly, the effect of this soda is very doubtful. Readers of the site often write to me and tell me that they can’t do anything with soda!
Some people try to use baking soda instead of washing soda, but it has no effect. Yes, some leaves may become skeletonized after cooking, but here even just boiling in hot water without any additives - for soft, loose leaves, such as chestnut, this is enough.
It’s generally funny to talk about soaking in green tea – it’s complete nonsense.
Thirdly, there are means that are much more effective and affordable.

So how do you actually skeletonize leaves effectively?

There are several ways:

Dry
Wet
Natural

Dry method

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

The method seems simple - take a brush and beat a leaf with it. But! Having bought a special brush with a comfortable handle and worked with this brush on a leaf for about ten minutes, I was very upset - nothing worked for me! And all because the bristles on the brush were made of synthetics, and also not hard enough.

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

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

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

Natural skeletonization method

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

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

In order not to rely on nature and not wait for a suitable leaf to come across, we arrange natural skeletonization of the house. Pour plain water into a jar and put the leaves in it. Close the lid and leave it 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 leaf pulp comes off. If the leaf has softened enough, rinse it under running water with three fingers to remove all the mucus.

I experimented with a Benjamin Dunetti ficus leaf that had been in water for a month. After that, it exfoliated, and I simply removed the film from it, which covers the sheet on both sides. The result was a very soft and delicate skeletonized leaf (although initially the ficus leaves were very hard). The structure resembles that of a dragonfly wing, right?

This is also a great way to skeletonize physalis. These are bright orange lanterns on a branch; florists love to use them to make bouquets of dried flowers. Physalis

In principle, the lanterns become skeletonized on their own, naturally on the bush (from rain and snow) - you just need to not miss the moment and collect them in time before they rot. Or you can also put them in water and after a couple of weeks get ready-made “skeletons”.

Wet method

If you need a lot of leaves, it is most effective to skeletonize them using the wet method. Fill the leaves with water and add “Mole” powder (pipe cleaner). In general, any aggressive household chemicals. There is a lot on the Internet. You can take soda, of course, but I don’t guarantee the result.

So, throw two or three tablespoons of powder into water and cook the leaves for several hours. An hour is enough for maple leaves, two to three hours for sycamore leaves (and other hard leaves). Moreover, the smaller the sycamore leaf, the longer it needs to be cooked.

Next, take out the leaves and wash them in a bowl of water. Use three fingers to remove the pulp. Rubber gloves with pimples also help. If the pulp does not come off, cook it some more. Hard leaves need to be brushed with a toothbrush wooden board. At the same time, constantly moisten the toothbrush in water. Let's look at this method in more detail.

Which leaves turn skeletons well? These are, first of all, maple and sycamore leaves. Poplar leaves (black or silver), birch, linden, aspen, oak, blueberry, walnut, alder, and ficus leaves are excellent.

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

After descaling, I leave the leaves to air dry. And then I just iron it with a warm iron. You can immediately put it under a press, or immediately iron the wet leaves with an iron - it’s whatever you want. You won't be able to move very flimsy leaves - you'll tear them or crush them. Let them dry first in a straightened form - the same way you took them out of the water, and then move them wherever you want.

Whitening

To make the leaves white and transparent, you need to fill them with half and half water and bleach (“White” is fine). Wait 10-15 minutes (depending on what leaves you are processing). As soon as they turn white, take them out and wash them under running water. You get a white transparent sheet.

You can also beat such leaves with a brush. Or you can skeletonize them by boiling them with “Mole” and then bleach them - it will turn out like the finest white lace - very beautiful.

Leaf skeletonization is a long and painstaking, but very interesting process! Under the influence of water, air and chemicals, the pulp is separated from the veins, forming an openwork contour in the form of a leaf.

Processing methods

It should be said that skeletonized blanks can also be purchased in craft stores or online. There you will find leaves of trees that cannot be found in your city: magnolia, Canadian maple, cork tree, bamboo.

But you shouldn’t give up on the process of making skeletons at home - it’s much more interesting to watch how a leaf turns into an openwork plexus of veins in your hands. In addition, this method is more economical than buying ready-made leaves.

Skeletonization is based on several methods, used depending on how many sheets you need, their density and rigidity.

This technique is used if you need to skeletonize 1-2 leaves. You can process larger quantities of workpieces dry, but it will take a lot of time - 1 sheet is cleaned for 15-20 minutes.

All you need is a brush to beat out the pulp. Pay attention to the bristles: buy brushes only with natural bristles. And the tougher it is, the better the skeletonization you will perform.

Place the light leaves in front of you and start brushing them. This will separate the flesh from the veins, leaving only the frame.

In the same way, you can process dried leaves from a herbarium, but you will not get a stringy, but simply an openwork blank.

The natural way

Leaf skeletonization occurs in a similar way in the natural environment—hence the name of the method.

• Pour water into a jar, place a leaf in it, close the lid and leave it like that for a month. Monitor the process carefully - you may need less time.

• When will he leave? top layer sheet, remove the workpiece and rinse it under running water to remove mucus.

• Carefully separate the pulp with your hands or using thin, medium-hard brushes.

You will be left with some cute blanks in your hands. Skeletonization is completed by drying in a dry place for 2 days. This is a good way to process ficus leaves and physalis fruits.

Wet method

Wet skeletonization is used if you need to prepare several leaves at once.

• Place the leaves in a pan of water and add 2-3 tablespoons of a chemical solvent such as Mole.

• Boil the leaves for several hours. The average cooking time is 2-3 hours for medium-hard preparations.

• After cooking, remove the leaves from the pan and rinse with water in a bowl.

• Using your fingers, rubber gloves or a toothbrush, begin to scrub the pulp away from the veins.

To learn more about wet skeletonization, watch the following video.

Carefully place the straightened pieces in a dry, well-ventilated place and leave to dry for 1-2 days.

Skeletonization of leaves using chemicals is similar to the wet method. The difference is that you don't need to cook the preparations.

Just fill the leaves with white and water in a one to one ratio. You can remove the workpieces when they turn white and begin to lose pulp.

During drying, all workpieces must be placed under a press so that they turn out flat and even.

The success of separating the pulp from the skeleton depends mainly on the stiffness and thickness of the leaf. The leaves of the following plants skeletonize more easily than others: poplar, plane tree, linden, oak, blueberry, birch, aspen, ficus. Experiment with cherry and currant leaves.

Also think about decorating the skeletons: painting them, laminating them, additional coating.

Painting skeletonized leaves can be done at several stages:

• in the process of separating the pulp from the veins, whiteness and potassium permanganate will help you;

• after the final drying of the product, use watercolors or gouache, spray paint cans.

Coat the finished product with varnish or a fixative to make it more durable. Use sparkles, rhinestones and beads for decoration.

Types of needlework

Skeletonization of leaves - only initial stage. Thanks to the openwork appearance blanks began to be used to create a wide variety of do-it-yourself products.

Below you can see several popular uses for skeletonized leaves.

Leaf paintings

They draw twigs or other patterns on the finished background, glue blank sheets - the result is a wonderful picture.

In addition, skeletonized sheets often act as a canvas for images themselves. And not only images - recently such a type of needlework as artistic carving on leaves has appeared.

Texturing

The leaves are also used to add a special texture to some materials.

In quilting and patchwork techniques, skeletons are sewn into the fabric. And wool felting masters roll the blanks onto the products so that the pattern of the veins can be seen from the inside.

But the most amazing invention is pressing leaves under a press into paper. Thus, skeletonization contributes to the appearance beautiful sheets for crafts and photo wallpapers with skeletons inside.

Scrapbooking and decoupage techniques were among the first to take note of leaf skeletonization as an economical way to obtain new working material.

Decoupage with openwork blanks is used for dishes, lamps, and furniture. And leaves, carelessly glued to cards and albums, add airiness to the product.

Jewelry with pieces of skeletonized leaves has recently been rapidly gaining popularity. Almost every craftsman considers it his duty to try creating pendants by pouring skeletal leaves with epoxy resin.

The following technique is also common: an openwork sheet is coated with gold or silver plating, fixed with a fixative varnish and used as an independent pendant.

Skeleton leaves: master class

Try using skeletonization for simple master class for decorating beer glasses. All you need: skeletonized blanks, glue, clear varnish, red and yellow glass paints, glasses.

• Cover one side of the skeletons with glue and glue them to the glasses in random order.

• In the spaces between the leaves, paint the leaves with paints. Leaves drawn dotted will look like real carved blanks.

• Coat the glasses with a fixing varnish and leave to dry.

These fall-themed beer glasses make great holiday gifts. Especially in October, when the Beer Festival traditionally takes place. Moreover, they are created to lift your spirits on a dark autumn evening.