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2. PearlEx as a Resist Basic Beginners Project 
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 24. Now dab your second color all around the back so that the entire back of the leaf is covered in PearlEx. |
 25. I've bordered this leaf with the second color, to add some interest to the leaf. |
 26. Turn the leaf over again. Brush a little more PearlEx into the places where the clay color is showing through more than others. |
 27. Take a long thin tool of some kind (here I'm using a Kemper Pro Needle tool), and score the main veins of the leaf just a little bit! This gives it a deeper design! Or you can lay the tool along the line and give it a gentle fold! |
 28. Give the leaf another gentle fold in the middle. You are going to give the leaf a little shaping so that it doesn't look as flat. |
 29. Take your PearlEx applicator and go over the little spots that are left after folding it! Making sure that the PearlEx is evenly distributed! |
 30.Now grab the tip of the leaf and give it a little squeeze. You want to form the ends just a little bit to give the leaf more character! |
 31. Continue squeezing and shaping the tips of all the points of the leaf. |
 32. If you're using a big Maple Leaf like I am, you'll want to squeeze and shape as many of the little points as you can! |
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Now, remember what I said about one side of this leaf being cut out fast, and one side of this leaf where I spent more time cutting evenly around the edges of the leaf??? Look closly at the next picture and you can see that it really isn't as important as you might think - proving that even young children can do this project and come out with a great finished product. Something they can be very proud of!!! |
 33. And here we have our leaf, almost done! Being a Compulsive obsessive that I am, I see a couple spots that have too much clay showing through for me! |
 34. Oops, there's a little white spot hiding in the elbow of that point!!! |
 35. Take your applicator, what ever you are using, and brush across the booboo spot. |
 36. All Better!!! |
 37. Now let's poke a hole in this so we can put a thread in it later!!! |
 38. Now let's admire our pretty leaf!!! It's got a nice shape to it and it has some form and it sure sparkles nice! We'll bake it for about 30 - 45 minutes at 265 degrees! Take it out of the oven, let it cool, put a string or a ribbon on it and hang it up!!! |
What about making them with your children? Collect leaves from the different places you visit with them and making a collection. |
How about Christmas Decorations? Put a gold thread to hang it from and maybe a golden bow on it! Can you see a whole tree filled with different colors of shiny leaves? Another idea, how about your children helping to make them. Make a whole bunch and put them together as a Holiday wreath for Grandmother! What a wonderful present.
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