Christine de Beer - effortless floral craftsman
Autumn Leaf Rosette
- 11 November 2012
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In botany, a rosette is shaped by leaves radiating out from the stem of a plant and visible even after the flowers have faded.
In architecture a rosette is a flat, rose shaped, sculptured or carved relief
Gather a wide variety (in shape, type and colour) of autumn leaves to create a full and interesting rosette. You can really use any leaves. Use the smaller ones for the first three rows, the ones with the longest stems for the gap fillers and the largest leaves to shape the inside circles.
Cut a large cardboard circle.
To start the pattern roll the first batch of autumn leaves into cone shapes.
Glue the leaves to the outer edge of the cardboard.
Leave a slight gap between the leaves.
Glue leaves all the way around.
Start on a second row of leaves, just inside the first row.
Glue a third row of leaves and set aside for the leaves to dry.
As the leaves shrink and shrivel up it will create gaps for fresh leaves.
I wanted the stems of the next batch of leaves to point up:
Fold the long stem end in.
Fold one side of the leaf over to the vain and the stem
Roll the other side of the leaf over to create a neat packet
Glue the rolled leaves in the gaps.
Add leaves all the way around.
To fold bigger leaves smaller:
Fold the leaf and stem up.
Fold the one side of the leaf over the stem.
and roll the leaf to create a packet
Glue the bigger leaves to the cardboard. Because of the extra bit of leaf tucked into the fold these packets are thicker and fluff out when dry
Add more leaves...
and a few more leaves...
and a few more leaves...
Set aside for the autumn leaves to dry.
Again, the leaves will shrink as it dries leaving a few gaps.
Fill in the gaps with fresh leaves and set aside to dry
Place the rosette on a chalice shaped vase. Glue in a twigs and weave it round the rosette to conceal the cardboard edge
Variation:
Or glue sisal fibers around the edge
And decorate with seeds and twigs
Glue in a few test tubes to keep the fresh plant material hydrated.
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