DIY Leaf Stenciled Vase

I grew up in a house with a huge basket of pine cones sitting by the fire. Everyplace we visited we'd always try and find more pine cones to add to the collection so when Plaid sent me some Martha Stewart Crafts  goodies I knew I wanted to start off a brand new collection for life here in the US because around our apartment pine cones are dripping off the trees - it's a cheap and perfect way to bring some of the fall season into your home. 

If you haven't checked them out already Plaid have teemed up with Martha Stewart Crafts in providing some amazing crafty goodies especially for glass painting with everything you could ever need from paints, special brushes, stencils and transfer paper. 

Supplies;

• Vase 
• Pine cones or other goodies like acorns
• Martha Stewart Glass patterning tape
• Martha Stewart Liquid gilding in silver and copper
• Martha Stewart Natural bristle brush
• Martha Stewart Squeegees
• Martha Stewart Glass paint in chestnut, brown and mace colours
• Martha Stewart Leaves Adhesive Silkscreen #33235

The vase itself was an estate sale find - one grabbed into the $5 bag with a load of other goodies so that in itself was rather inexpensive but it was plain and certainly needed jazzing up. Using the Martha Stewart Crafts glass patterning tape I marked out around the rim of the vase - just to make sure when it came to gilding the edge the finish would be neat and straight. The gilding paint - which came in silver and copper applies smooth and although it needs a good couple of layers really builds up well. I choose to use the copper color for this part and I'd suggest applying it in a well ventilated area. Once it's dyed gently pull away the patterning tape and you'll have a nice, crisp edge.

As soon as I'd opened the box of goodies I was instantly drawn to the leaf silkscreen and I knew I wanted to create the impression of leaves falling down along the length of the vase. Using wonky angles, letting them over lap with two of the different sized leaves I took to placing the silkscreens upon the vase. These silkscreens already have a pre-sticky backing which really helps with placement, you don't have to worry about them slipping or coming unstuck when your applying your paint. 

Then to the fun part - painting! Sticking to autumnal colours I used the Martha Stewart Crafts Glass Paint using a mixture of shades Chestnut, Brown and Mace alternating across the leaves. The Martha Stewart squeegees are amazing for using with silk screens - applying your paint along the edge of the stencil and merely dragging it down with the squeegee until it's all covered.  

And there you have it - pretty stenciled leaves upon glass - pretty huh? I just love that rustic look. You need to take your silkscreen off as soon as you've painted each leave - no need to leave it to dry. Then there's two methods to set your paintwork - you can either leave it 21 days to dry or bake in the oven. Seeing I wasn't intending to use this vase for anything other then decoration I opted for the 21 air drying method. 

Now you could leave your finished vase as is - and just add some flowers. But I wanted to get back to collecting pine cones - so my my vase is my pine cone holder. But I wanted to spice them up a little and add some more dimensions to the range of colors so I went back to using the gilding paint an used both the silver and copper tones to paint just a couple of the pine cones in each shade. I was surprised at just how well the gilding took to the cones - I thought it would be a little too porous  but after only two coats they were done and then it's time to just place them into your vase. 

FINISHED! A great simple and small way to add a bit of autumn into your home and you could certainly add acorns, leaves, berries into the mixture as and when you come across them. 

Make sure you check out what other crafters have been making with their goodies! 

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Disclosure - I wrote this post as part of a paid campaign with Plaid and Blueprint Social. The opinions in this post are my own.