Make this gorgeous watercolor paper leaf and branch mobile with just a few sheets of paper and about an hour’s time! A stunning fall home decor craft to welcome the autumn season!
One of my favorite things about fall is all of the beautiful colored leaves, but in our neighborhood, most of the leaves just turn a boring shade of dull brown. The boys and I decided to take matters into our own hands and make some colorful leaves of our own. We used watercolor paints to turn everyday paper into a gorgeous watercolor leaf and branch mobile that showcases all of the gorgeous colors of autumn.
How to Make a Watercolor Paper Leaf & Branch Mobile:
We started by creating lots and lots of watercolor paintings in a fall palette.
Our very favorite watercolors are the Colorations Liquid Watercolors because they’re super vibrant (they’re even slightly diluted here!).
My boys have been dying to get their hands on my Sizzix Big Shot machine ever since I used it to create a felt star banner for Simon’s superhero birthday party last month. The machine is actually really simple to use, so it’s safe for children (with adult supervision, of course!).
We cut our watercolor paintings into quarters, and then used the Big Shot machine with the Tim Holtz Layered Leaf Bigz Die and Embossing Folder to cut out a bunch of leaves.
Once the leaves have been cut out, it’s time to use the embossing folder to create the texture. Just place the leaf into the embossing folder, crank through the Big Shot machine, and you’re done! SO simple!
It took no time at all to create this entire stack of gorgeous watercolor leaves (okay, maybe about 15 minutes)!
Isn’t that texture incredible?!
I decided to turn the leaves into a mobile, so I grabbed a branch from our yard and some thread that is the same color as our wall. I simply tied the string to the stem of the leaf, and then tied the other end to the branch. Easy peasy!
Start by creating one row of leaves and then layering additional rows to create depth and movement.
I seriously can’t get enough of these! They’re stunning!
All-in-all, it only took about an hour’s worth of work and six sheets of paper to create this entire watercolor leaf and branch mobile, and I love the way it turned out! I can’t wait to add some more of our fall treasures to turn this desktop area into our fall nature table!
You May Also Like These Easy Fall Crafts:Â
Easy Fall Kids Craft: Watercolor Leaf Wreath
Vanilla Pumpkin Spice Sugar Scrub
Rebecca | LettersFromSunnybrook.com says
October 13, 2014 at 4:09 amWhat a beautiful project! I really like the embossing effect and the subtlety of the colors. Great job! pinning 🙂
Kara says
October 13, 2014 at 2:25 pmThis is such a fun idea! I love the texture on the leaves, they are gorgeous!
JaneEllen says
October 13, 2014 at 8:58 pmLove your leaf mobile and such a great idea making a mobile. I have got to get that die, I have a Big Shot. Think it’s so great your boys help you and like to craft. Wonderful for them and you. Nice to have help cutting out all those leaves and water coloring the papers first is brilliant to have the colors put on at random, much more realistic looking. So enjoyed this idea and post. Pinning Happy Fall
lisa at mabey she made it says
October 14, 2014 at 8:34 amI love this! Watercolor is one of my favorites
Cori says
October 14, 2014 at 4:19 pmThis is just stunning! I love everything about it SO much.
[email protected] says
October 14, 2014 at 11:56 pmThis is brilliant! I love that the kids painted and the overall results are awesome.
laura londergan says
October 17, 2014 at 10:27 amso yeah, this is seriously one of the coolest projects I have seen in a long time! FAB-U-LOUS! I am so loving it!!!!
Erica says
October 17, 2014 at 12:17 pmWow, this project is AMAZING! I have never heard of a Big Shot machine before – at first glance those leaves look real! The colors and overall look are fab 🙂
Steph @ Crafting in the Rain says
October 17, 2014 at 7:52 pmSo lovely–and it’s great how you got the kids involved too!
MrsMajorHoff (Sara) says
October 19, 2014 at 8:33 pmSo pretty! I love these!
beth says
October 23, 2014 at 1:32 pmHi, like it a lot! how did you attach the branch to the wall? thanks!
Heidi says
October 25, 2014 at 11:41 amHi Beth! The branch is sitting on top of two nails that I hammered into the wall. 🙂
Lindsay @ Frenchie says
October 24, 2014 at 9:08 amI had no idea this was your project and I always loved it! Awesome job and I love those dies!
Monica says
January 27, 2015 at 5:42 amWow! I love, love, love this project. I pinned it and shared it with my google+ craft tutorial community. Thanks for the inspiration.
Amanda says
September 25, 2015 at 10:22 amI loved this DIY so much that I featured it in a recent blog post! You can find it here
http://thedeerandthewolf.com/fall-for-diy/
Amanda
Jessica says
October 9, 2015 at 10:26 amI love this diy. I edit a bi-monthly paper mailer we send out to our patients and it includes fun stuff, not just dental related. I would love to feature this photo in there. I will definitely have a link straight to this blog! Please contact me if you have any other questions. Thank You.
Eden Passante says
November 16, 2016 at 8:12 pmSuch a genius craft to do with the kids!! I love how beautiful and dainty this is, one of my favorite DIY’s I’ve seen so far!
Kathy Ann Ornellas says
August 27, 2017 at 4:59 pmHow do you get the branch (stick) to stay on the wall…or do you also attach it to the ceiling….it is beautiful!!!
Heidi says
August 28, 2017 at 1:38 pmIt is resting upon two tiny nails in the wall, one at either end 🙂
Lisa Mecham says
October 12, 2017 at 2:33 pmI LOVE this idea! I’m a DIY blogger too. Nice to “meet” you. I actually just put together a few of my favorite fall decor DIYs post and featured them together on my blog. This awesome DIY is one of them! Have a look and share it if you’d like. 🙂
http://www.lipstainandlegos.com/15-fall-decor-hacks-tricks/
Jeanine says
October 20, 2017 at 6:51 pmUmmm yes please… I would like to purchase the Big Shot Machine just for this project! No joke! I would do it EVERY year for the next however many i am alive! I think I know I love the autumn leaves more than the kids!