Happy International Day of Families! 

Celebrate by creating a pressed leaf family tree.

International Day of Families, founded by the United Nations in 1994, occurs every year on May 15th. Each year has a different theme with this year's theme being "Families in Development." The theme was chosen to bring attention to issues, such as poverty and healthcare, and encourage policy change to better support families.  

This theme also brings to mind how families change. They grow with marriage and birth, and can also get smaller. Sometimes we have friends we are so close to they are like a family. Sometimes our pets are like family. I have a very interesting family. I was adopted as a baby by my mom and dad that raised me with two sisters. Changes happened, my parents married new partners and had new children. Two half-sisters and a step-sister became my sisters. Then in my twenties I met my birth mother, plus two brothers. In my 30's I met my birth father, plus two more sisters and a brother. Wow, talk about a family in development. 

I feel so grateful to be an adopted person as I personally know families come in all different shapes and sizes, and love is the most important bond of all. 

How to Make A Pressed Leaf Family Tree

1. Gather fresh leaves from plants. Harvest responsibly by only taking a few leaves from each plant. You don't have to choose tree leaves. I used buckwheat and sweet potato leaves because they were heart-shaped. I also gathered some black-eyed pea leaves and leaves from wildflowers.

2. To press leaves layer cardboard with 5 sheets of paper, gently arrange leaves on paper so leave lie flat without overlapping. Top with 5 more sheets of scrap paper. Keep stacking cardboard, paper, leaves, paper, cardboard, etc until you have all leaves sandwiched in the stack of paper and cardboard. Top with wood and heavy books.

3. The next day, switch out the paper with fresh dry scrap paper so the moisture from the leaves can continue to wick out.  The leaves will feel dry and thin as paper when ready for use in a collage, in about a week or two depending on the type of leaves used.

4. The family tree collage can be made on wood or cardboard. I used cardboard from the back of a large sketch pad.

5. Draw and the trunk of your tree, grass, and sky. No need to color in the top of the tree as it will be covered with real leaves.

6. Now cover with a thinned glue, one part water to one part glue. If you used marker, the color will spread, resulting in a more painterly quality. 

7. Begin to place your leaves on the tree, brushing on more glue as needed. Also, brush over the leaves with glue.

Tip: Have a variety of leaf sizes. Luckily I already had a few small leaves dried from another project. My large leaves made it hard to fill in small spaces.

8. Let the collage dry overnight. When it is dry, you are ready to add the names of your family members. I included my pets and a few close friends that are like family to me. Who is in your family?

Luna!