I went back and read it and the only thing I ignored was masking tape.
Good grief.

In all seriousness, I think your method would work better than my masking tape with material that has a high water content, especially if the top paper is absorbent. I'll have to try that. I've been using muslin in the past.

I've done hammered prints on muslin, it works also, but there's hardly any way to set it and heat alone doesn't always work well. Actually the muslin absorbs the pigment better than paper does, so the print is lovely.

Or did you already say that in the tutorial and I missed it too?

No, Sharon, you're fine.

This is really neat!! I have to try this one. You people have to quit making all these fantastic tutorials!! I now have seven projects in progress!

Only seven?

Uh, for the moment. I am currently digging through the boxes of wooden miniatures ready to paint and keep putting things aside saying "I can do this! I can do that one too!" I now have three boxes of mini Christmas ornaments ready for me to start working on.....in addition to the clay candy corn pendants I put the clay out for, the Christmas gift exchange item that I am working on, the decopauge bookmarks that are in progress, the stool that I am still working on, the papercraft card that I am working on for my daughter....and I can't remember the others!!!

Beautiful! I LOVE this idea...

I tried it on ordinary printer paper with coleus leaves but they are much too wet and the paper got wrecked. I need the right supplies!

Coleus leaves are a real challenge, Becky. They're generally too water logged. You might try putting some muslin down on the paper, then the leaf, and then the tape. You'll also need to use a more absorbent type of paper. Even then, there probably won't much, if any, separation of colors on a multicolored leaf. And reds turn out black. As I said, quite a challenge!

So, a person really needs to think about the plant material they want to use?

The absorbency of the paper or fabric is probably more important. Regular print paper has a slick finish, not absorbent. It has to soak up the leaf liquid quickly so you end up with clear edges, otherwise you get smudges. And if the leaf is thick and juicy, that's hard to control too. So it depends on the juiciness of the leaf and the absorbency of the paper/fabric.

I don't think something like a sedum would work, too thick and juicy. Maple leaves work well though. Probably caladium. And if you have a Sweet Gum tree, oh yeah. Ferns work well too, and most flower petals.

Hmmmm, have to go out and look around. : )

valleylynn said:Those are all lovely. Does the plant material stay on the paper when you are done?

I hammered plants unto watercolor paper in 2004 and the prints have not faded. No need to spray any fixative on the notecards once hammered. They will not fade.

Also, I put a paper towel over the plant and then hammer. Many times I get a really good impression on the paper towel as well as the notecard. I use the impression on the paper towel and put that on a notecard. Looks really cool.

I wanted to add that some plant material actually stays on the paper. Panies, morning glories, petunias, 4 o'clocks, rose petals - any really thin plant material. You may leave the stuck on plant or remove it. I like the thin ones remaining on the paper.

You guys are so inspirational!!! We used to preserve flowers and leaves by laminating the actual plant material to

create book marks or pictures to frame.

They became brittle pretty quickly and fell apart.

Love this idea... As Sally said "I can do this, I can do this".

Marilyn. Go for it!

And show us a photo of your work of art.

Here you go:

Beautiful!

Oh Larry, those a beautiful. I really need to give this a try.