A Lovely Maple Leaf Brooch with Plaid Dyes

The project that I came up with for today is actually something that would look very good in the Fall, which is just around the corner.

The Items needed for this project are:

Proxxon Jig Saw
Proxxon Rotary Tool
Proxxon Delta Sander
Fine Sandpaper
Wood Burning Tool
Leaf Pattern
Small Paint Brush
Plaid Dye - Lady Marmalade
Plaid Dye - Pucker Up
Plaid Dye - Infra Red
Kamar Varnish
Pin Back
Glue
Black gesso
To begin, I traced the outline of a Maple leaf onto the gourd and wood burned the entire leaf.

I then tried out the Plaid Dyes in Lady Marmalade which is an orange color, Pucker Up which is a yellow color and Infra Red which is of course a red color. This picture is of the bottles that the Plaid Dyes come in:

And this picture is of  the colors tried out with just two light coats of the dye put onto the gourd.

I liked how the colors looked and so I used the small paintbrush to apply the colors to the gourd leaf. I used the same paintbrush for all of the colors with only rinsing  the brush in water and wiping it on a paper towel between colors. I thought the colors blended rather well, going from yellow to orange and then to red.

When the dye was dry, I started by using the Proxxon Jig Saw to cut around the leaf.

And then I had the thought of using the Proxxon Rotary Tool and a special Master Carver bur to make the job go more smoothly.

How's that for making some super nice cutting around the leaf and in all of the crevices. It's a really easy tool to use and the flex shaft with the pen like end is a dream to use. After finishing the cutting, I used the Proxxon Delta Sander to smooth the tips and a piece of fine sandpaper to get all the crevices. I then painted the back and edges with black gesso and sealed the piece both front and back with the Kamar Varnish. I glued a pin back onto the gourd leaf and Voila' I was finished.

This pin would look very nice on a shirt, coat or jacket this Fall when the air starts to get nippy. Check out all the Proxxon Micro Tools at www.proxxon.com if you like to work with tools made special for the shop.

Barbara