How to Do a Leaf Rubbing

Leaf rubbings allow you to preserve fleeting bits of nature for fun or as art.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Crayons
• Picture Frames
• Mat Board
• Mat Cutters
• Fallen Leaves
• Colored Pencils
• Drawing Pencils
• Paper
• Tracing Paper

Pencil Rubbings

1. Find some interesting leaves. Ferns, oaks, maples and birches work well. Avoid pines or anything that is not fairly flat and smooth.
2. Lay the leaf face side up on a table or flat surface.
3. Cover the leaf with tracing paper or other thin paper such as onionskin paper.
4. Sharpen a regular pencil and hold it sideways so that the tip is on its side on the paper. You can also use a thick drawing pencil.
5. Lightly rub the side of the pencil tip over the paper covering the leaf. Make sure you cover the entire area and that you also rub around the edges of the leaf so that you can see the contrast in this area.
6. Consider framing your rubbing.
7. Try making a grouping of different leaves and doing a rubbing of the entire grouping.

Crayon Rubbings

8. Prepare your leaf and paper as described above.
9. Peel the paper label off a crayon and lay the crayon on its side on the paper.
10. Make the rubbing using the crayon following the same steps as above.

Tips & Warnings

• Try working with colored pencils for a different look.
• Avoid mechanical pencils as they are too thin to work well for this project.
• This method is terrific for children of all ages.

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