Collect leaves and artists' materials. Make it an outdoor adventure! Look for interesting plants.

Helpful reminder: Avoid vines with shiny leaves in groups of three — like poison ivy or poison oak. Sturdy plants work better than softer plants.

Set colors on your palette. Leave lots of room between colors to mix and to apply to the leaves. Premixing colors in advance will encourage creative flow. Make sure to protect your work surface by covering it with an old newspaper or towel.

This project is so enticing that you may want to do a lot once you're all set up, so plan an area to spread them out to dry (about 5-15 minutes, depending on paint thickness and humidity).

Trying for color drama, contrast, excitement? Then pair opposites (yellow/violet, red/green, or blue/orange). Seeking color harmony and unity? Near neighbor colors to the rescue (yellow/green/blue, yellow/orange, red). Another way to color harmony: use colors near in value (light or dark quality). How about using your favorite colors? The Liquitex Basics range features bright, rich, inspiring colors.

TIP: Acrylics drying too fast for you? Adding Liquitex Slow-Dri Blending medium to colors lengthens open time.

4a. Apply paint to each leaf that you intend to press down to create your design. You do not have to wait for each leaf pressing to dry, as working wet-into-wet will introduce unique visual characteristics to the piece.

TIP: To get clean, even color tones, mix with a knife and then apply with a brush.

4b. Create order by intentionally placing and repeating shapes. Some favorite geometric patterns include: circles, spirals, and triangles. Try using a dominant center point of interest with smaller shapes leading up to, or away, from it.

When you're done, clean up acrylics with soap and water.

Consider leaf pressings to create your own greeting cards, make holiday decorations, spice up home decor, refurbish old furniture. Make it a keepsake. Save the good memories and share with friends!