Fall DIY Table Runner

  

The other day I showed you the fall runner I made in art class.  It was so much fun to make that I wanted to show you how we did it. Our runners were a group project and now I have a memento of all the pretty leaves made by my friends.

I went to art class a little early this week so I could take some pictures of the materials we used to make the runners.  The process was very simple and didn't involve too many specialized tools.

You need the following:
1. A high-density rubber block in the size you want to make your design
2. Carving tools
3. A glass picture frame (the type without a frame) that we used to roll our paint on
4. Roller (although technically you could apply the paint to the glass with a paintbrush

We looked up leaf shapes in some tree and shrub books (well I did anyway because I'm a bit of a botany nut and wanted to make a real leaf shape).  First we sketched the leaf on some waxed paper and then transferred that to the rubber block.  Then we carved the leaf.  The only tricky part is that you have to consider that the ink will only be on the raised portions and you cut away the part that won't have any ink showing.  

Once our leaves were carved we rolled acrylic paint onto the glass - sometimes using more than one colour - and pressed our rubber leaf stamp into the paint.  It was so exciting to see the stamp with ink on it for the first time.  Then we stamped everyone's leaves on each other's runners so we had a complete forest of leaves.  You have to make sure to apply enough ink, but not too much, so that all the details show up.  You also need to press evenly across the stamp when you apply it to the fabric.  We didn't mind if they weren't perfect though, as real fall leaves aren't perfect.

(I made the maple leaf at the top and the oak leaf at the bottom) 

Before stamping on the runner fabric I practiced on a piece of paper which I proudly hung on our fridge (like I'm in kindergarten all over again).

We're going to make another runner soon in a Christmas design because we all enjoyed making them so much. They really aren't difficult and would make great gifts for friends and family.