On Saturday I made my weekly pilgrimage to Dollar Tree.  (Don’t laugh – that place is thebomb.com (yes, I’m bringing that expression back)).  While there, I found a NEW and EXCITING product – moss sheets!  I know that sounds funny, but moss sheets for crafting are typically expensive, so I was ecstatic to find them at Dollar Tree!  I got them home and immediately put them to use on an adorable DIY home decor project – Scrap Wood Nesting Houses!  

These little moss sheets, combined with scrap wood left over from my IKEA Rast Bar Cart Hack, made for one cute project!  Let me show you what you need and how to make them.

Supplies Needed for Scrap Wood Nesting Houses

• Scrap wood
• Saw (I used my Ryobi circular saw, which I adore)
• Sandpaper 
• Paint (I used brown acrylic, creamy white acrylic, and red chalk paint (but acrylic would totally work))
• Paint brushes
• Moss sheets
• Hot glue gun
• Twine
• Scissors

How to Make Scrap Wood Nesting Houses

Not pictured in this post is me cutting my scrap wood into house shapes.  It’s hard to use a saw and photograph yourself, you know?  Just understand that I used a ruler to draw simple house shapes on my board and then cut them out.  

I gently sanded around the edges to make sure I didn’t give myself a splinter.  Then I painted the houses with brown acrylic paint so that I could do a distressed finish on top.  The brown is the base layer, intended to give some contrast.  

After the brown paint dried, I dry brushed some off-white acrylic paint on top, making sure to leave some of the brown showing in parts so that the nesting houses would have a slightly worn finish.  

Next, I cut one moss sheet into strips and hot glued them onto the tops of the scrap wood so that the pieces would look like little moss covered roofs. 

For a little decorative detail, I tied twine at the roofline of each house.

The scrap wood nesting houses were cute like this, but I felt like they were a little plain.  Since Valentine’s Day is around the corner, I decided to paint little hearts on them.  You could skip this part or paint different details!

I gently sanded over the hearts, once dry, to give them an equally weathered look as the houses’ paint finish.  Then they were ready for their close ups.  🙂

OK back to the moss sheets from Dollar Tree.  You might be wondering why they’re a big deal, as opposed to bagged craft moss.  The reason is that they make so much less of a mess!  And they let you get straight lines with your moss, which can be tricky when you’re gluing moss on certain projects.  

For those reasons, I bought all five packages my Dollar Tree had.  #sorrynotsorry

I’ve got another moss project planned for next week.  I can’t wait to share it with you.  In the meantime, I’d love for you to share this project with a friend who might like it!  

-Bre

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Over the weekend I took Jasper (my pup) for a nice walk and couldn’t help but admire all of the beautiful fall leaves on the ground.  I scooped up a few of my favorite maple leaves and brought them home because I knew they’d be perfect for a craft project.  After checking out the craft supplies in my desk, I knew exactly what to make – a leaf stamped tea towel!  It’s an easy project and adds a nice fall touch to my kitchen!  

Supplies Needed for Leaf Stamped Tea Towels

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• Leaves (pick freshly fallen leaves – not ones that have started to dry out and curl)
• Plain tea towel
• Acrylic paints in a variety of fall colors
• Brayer
• Wax paper
• Decorative trim
• Permanent fabric glue
• Scissors

How to Make Leaf Stamped Tea Towels

Begin by mixing acrylic paints so that they’re mottled and a blend of shades you see in fall leaves.  Then, flip over a leaf and paint the underside with a thin coat of paint.  You want to paint the underside because the leaf’s veins are more prominent and will leave more of an impression on the tea towel.  

Flip the leaf over and place it paint side down onto the tea towel.

Cut a piece of wax paper and lay it on top.  (The wax paper prevents any paint that squishes out from under the leaf from getting on the brayer and making a mess on the tea towel.)  Then gently roll the brayer over the leaf and remove the wax paper.  Repeat this process until the entire tea towel is covered in leaf prints.

Once the paint has dried, attach decorative trim to the bottom edge of the tea towel with permanent fabric glue.  

That is just how easy it is to use fall leaves to make a beautiful leaf stamped tea towel for your kitchen! 

You could also use this method on pillows, tote bags, or anything else that’s fabric!  

PRINTABLE TUTORIAL

If you’d like to print or save this tutorial, here you go!  Please let me know if you find this new feature useful!

Yield: 1

How to Make Leaf Stamped Tea Towels (With Real Leaves!)

Print

Use real leaves to make a beautiful leaf stamped tea towel for your kitchen! Bring the beauty of nature indoors with this pretty leaf craft project.

Prep Time 5 minutes

Active Time 15 minutes

Additional Time 15 minutes

Total Time 35 minutes

Difficulty Easy

Estimated Cost $3

Materials

• Leaves
• Plain Tea Towel
• Acrylic Paints
• Brayer
• Wax Paper
• Decorative Trim
• Permanent Fabric Glue
• Scissors

Instructions

1. Begin by mixing acrylic paints so that they're mottled and a blend of shades you see in fall leaves.  
2. Flip over a leaf and paint the underside with a thin coat of paint. You want to paint the underside because the leaf's veins are more prominent and will leave more of an impression on the tea towel. Flip the leaf over and place it paint side down onto the tea towel.
3. Cut a piece of wax paper and lay it on top. (The wax paper prevents any paint that squishes out from under the leaf from getting on the brayer and making a mess on the tea towel.) Then gently roll the brayer over the leaf and remove the wax paper. Repeat this process until the entire tea towel is covered in leaf prints.
4. Once the paint has dried, attach decorative trim to the bottom edge of the tea towel with permanent fabric glue.

Have you tried stamping with real leaves before?  It’s pretty amazing how well this process works!

-Bre