Do you ever sit inside and wish that there was a little more of the outside around you? I am really enjoying having plants in the house and my collection is slowly building. Unfortunately, I’m not all that great at watering them though. My simple solution to this is to just have some paper leaves adding to the look. No water needed and they’ll stay looking great all year round! Follow this DIY to bring your own low maintenance botanical feel into your home.
What you need:
Templates (download here, PDF template and Silhouette cut file included)
Cardboard, in variety of greens
Florist wire
Glue
Scissors and craft knife
What to do:
Start by cutting out your leaves from cardboard, using either the templates or the Silhouette Cut files. Cut a straight strip of cardboard, roughly the length you want your stem to be.
Glue the stem onto your leaf and then glue the florists wire along the stem. For the fern leaf, first shape the wire to the curve of the leaf, before gluing. Because of how the fern is cut it is naturally floppier than the other leaves, so it needs the wire to go along the full spine of the leaf. For the other leaves, it’s fine if the wire is glued just a few centimeters into the leaf shape.
Your paper leaves are then ready to go! For the delicious monster and split leaf philedendron leaves, you can fold them over to mimic how they flop on the plant.
While you’re at it, why not cut some mini leaves to make into a botanical garland of paper leaves? They could make a cute photo booth background for a tropical party or just add a little life to your desk, without needing to be watered!
What are your secrets to bringing some of the outdoors indoors? Do you have any tips for the rest of us?
Happy Greening!
For more creative inspiration, follow my Instagram at @Puresweetjoy or visit me at Pure Sweet Joy.
4 responses
WOW!! Tysm. helped a lot
Thank you for these files, they are exactly what I needed. 🙂
What size paper did you use? Where did you buy it? Thanks 🙂
Hi Aimee. Thanks for asking. The bigger leaves used A3 cardboard, which I purchased at my local art store. When choosing your card just ensure that it will be strong enough to hold itself up. Hold it gently on the short edge of the page and see whether it stays semi-horizontal or if it just flops down completely. Enjoy!