Mix Media Tapestry

Hello dear crafters :)

I have made a wall hanging tapestry with flower motifs out of some:

- used cardboards and papers from Ikea furniture,

- sweet corn leaves,

- old broken hand fan,

-last summer bamboo leaves from my garden,

-oak nut cups I picked up recently in my autumn walks.

- old shopping paper bags

and

- old, used styrofoam board.

I also used some hot glue, some needlework and sewing for putting the parts together and composition. In the end adding final touch by coloring the small oak cups.

Step 1: Stitching Bamboo Leaves

I have used some bamboo leaves for the flower leaves on the tapestry .

Separate bamboo leaves from the stem , and put a small bunch through the sewing machine. Repeat, add more leaves and sew them . ( I had too much leaves , and I have used some, and some left for some other project )

If you do not have a sewing machine, hot glue gun can be used, but it takes more time to glue a lot of leaves. This joining (merging) can be done by hand sewing too , also takes more time.

Cut the excess parts with scissors and do not forget to clean your working area,

so you do not end up in mess :)

Finally you can throw something to fire, and not use everything, literally :)

Step 2: Sewing Sweet Corn Leaves

Two big flowers on the tapestry were made out of sweet corn leaves, from corns we had this summer for delicious snacks.

The process of sewing leaves is the same as the previous one with bamboo leaves. Leaves are too big, so I have splited them in a smaller pieces. If there is some damaged parts, cut it out.
Grab a small bunch of leaves and sew it, then add more leaves and use it all.

For the flowers, this leaves needs to be bended , as in photos, and sewed again, so that can make a flower richer and fluffier.

Step 3: Making the Base of Tapestry

I had one big, carved cardboard from Ikea, and some cardboard like paper, nice carved too.

Also had an styrofoam board used this summer for some metal welding on my fence on the terrace for protection for ceramic tiles. So there are the holes from the hot metal, on it. Cutting the styrofoam is a nasty business, it flies all around the place, so cleaning is the must :)

I cut the styrofoam board in the dimension to fit the cardboard piece, and wrapped it out in paper from old shopping bags, as the first layer . Then I wrapped the board again in the carved Ikea paper and fixed it with thread, multiple times. You can use the wood glue , for this , but wrapping do not need drying period, so it seams faster, and I have used a lot of string to fix all the parts.
For this first "dressing" the board, any kind of packaging paper can be used, or even any fabric - textile .

Step 4: Finishing the Base of Tapestry

This piece of carved cardboard was so hard to conquer, so I have decided to use sewing technique for fixing it on the board. I have used the stronger string for this and the biggest needle I have in my sewing box. I sewed two sides of the cardboard , and it was enough .

If you do not have such embossed cardboard , you can use some old crouched scarf or knitted table cover to wrap around the base board ... and needs glue fixing , because the surface must be strong to hold the flowers later in the process.

Wrinkly surface also can be achieved by paper mache (decoupage ) techniques with paper napkins and school white glue.

Step 5: Making the Flowers From Corn Leaves

In the previous step I have made a long string of the baseline for the flowers. I cut it in half and start to roll as in the photo and to fix the rolled material with the needle with the strong thread. I was sewing as I roll, so I am sure that everything is hold together. When done, turn over and you have a flower out of corn leaves.

For this tapestry I made two big flowers. But if you fold the leaves in half , when sewing the second time, you can have smaller flowers , by adjusting how long the leaves will be. You can also trim the finished flowers and make it smaller if you want .

I have used the leaves from the sweet corn, but every corn will do the job. Corn leaves can be colored by textile colors by boiling in liquid color, but I have decided to leave the natural color as it is. It has enough contrast with the white surface under it.

Step 6: Making Decorative Leaves for the Flowers

I used light green bamboo leaves to make a bouquet and place them as a decorative leaves for the flowers. I did not use all that I have made. I used some, and folded three times to get some volume and sewed them together as well to make them secure for the next step - glue and placing. I made two of this.

Step 7: Coloring the Base of Tapestry

For the coloring I have used the acrylic color for painting walls . I had some leftovers from my summer living room walls painting. I have added some water in the acrylic "farbe", and painted the cardboard surface in white.

I was happy for not having to worry about having enough color , but in the end I have realized that the color is pruning of the surface when touched. But it is ok , when hanging on the wall ...just when moving it is not so stable.

For coloring - spray color can be used, also other forms of colors - any kind you can find or have already will do . I choose white - but you can use any color you like , having in mind a light contrast in colors of flowers and the base is necessary .

Step 8: Coloring Ice Cream Sticks for the Ornaments

WE ATE A LOOOOOT OF ICE CREAM THIS SUMMER :) :) :)

Somehow , I decided not to throw them in to garbage ... I knew that I will find the way to use them again, but in a more useful and funny way , for sure :)

I have colored the ice cream sticks in some yelowish color, and then I changed my mind and over painted them in white , again , so they have made ornaments just by shape , and it was enough. They did not need extra coloring ... it would be to much , in my style ..." Less is more " - I follow :)

Step 9: Drying the Color

Drying the wet color can be time consuming, but I have used my fire place for this purpose. This kind of acrylic paint has no odor and toxic vapors . Fresh colors can be dried outside , but it is winter time .. so I had to do it in the room.

Step 10: The "hanger "

For the hanger I accidently have found the old, broken ear head phones....The cable was cut , and I have used my big needle ( for evil witch fighting) and sew it to the cardboard . It is necessary to do it before you fix the flowers at the surface , later will be difficult . I made a simple knot at the back side, and the safe hanging "device" was installed.

Step 11: Decorative Leaves and Stuff

I trimmed the dried ends of the leaves .

Then, I spotted an old hand fan that was broken and craving for some more, nice usage, so I decided to take some of the red sticks and to decorate leaves bouquet . I put some of the hot glue and place it inside the green leaves and hold for some short time, for the glue to harden.
It is necessary to be very careful when using hot glue gun, because it can burn your fingers so quickly that you can not even notice when. Glue gun also make some thin , spider net like strings , and that can burn your skin to. Before you start to use it, make sure you cover the table , and that you have a secure place for the gun to put on, when not in use. Usually , hot glue needs a few seconds to harden, and you have to put some pressure on the glued area . Not with bare fingers !
This red wooden sticks from the hand fan gave some nice contrast to the light green bamboo leaves .

Step 12: Micro Dosing Details :)

I collected this oak nut shells that was on the ground below one giant oak tree in my mushroom hunting area. I think that tree is more than hundred years old . Not sure , if I am reclaiming the usage of this cups, but this summer it has a different usage for the oak nuts to grow ... and it was on the ground waiting to turn in to compost with the leaves too. I took them and gave them a new colored outfit , for sure :)
I cut the small handles from the cups and painted them in white . let them dry.

Step 13: Hot Glue Time :)

I used hot glue gun to fixate the leaves and flowers to the surface . Also I glued the ice cream sticks in this form to became an ornaments at the sides of the tapestry . First they were yellow, then white :) I liked white , more.

Step 14: Coloring the Oak Cups

I glued white colored oak nut shells to the surface. Then I used my watercolor set , and painted in some red, violet, yellow and red colors . The cups was white - first - so the watercolor can be visible and the right color. Since the cups are brown by nature, they can not take transparent watercolors , and the colors would not be visible. For this part - also - you can choose the colors you preferer.

And - that is it :)

This tapestry of mine is pretty big , 1 meter high and 50 cm wide 40 inches high and 20 wide , so it needs a lot of space to be hanged on. It can be placed outside , but then it needs extra secure hanging and to be protected from the wind and weather. I am planning to place it outside on my new terrace that was renovated this summer, but it will have to wait for the next summer.

I hope you will like my crafting and my final product. And also try to make one for yourself. My materials are not fixed, you can use palm leaves as well , and any kind of leaves that are not easy crushed when dried. For flowers you can use pine needles, straw, even textile stripes.

Wish you all well and crafty and creative time . :) :) :)