Cement Cast Leaves - Part Two

I'm sorry for the delay in completing this project.  My husband, Mr. Meticulous, fell while working in our yard and broke his hip.  I had to change hats from blogger to nurse.  Today I am posting some pictures of the painted leaves.  I will take you step-by-step through the process of two different painted finishes.  I don't think there is a wrong way to paint the leaves.  If you wanted to, you could just paint them one solid color but I like it when several layers of colors are used.  I painted one leaf following the method used in the earlier post of the bronze bunny. The only difference was that I added a top coat to protect the leaf.

Step 1 - Paint the leaf a light green.

Step 2 - While the green is still wet add other colors.  I used red, dark green and yellow.  With a wet brush I blended the colors.  I use a 1 1/2 or 2 inch paint brush.

Step 3 - When the leaf was dry, I painted it all over with watered down brown paint.

Step 4 - With a damp cloth, wipe off some of the brown.

Step 5 - When the leaf is dry, paint with a sealer.  You can use concrete sealer or poly.  I had something called Counter Topcoat that I had left over from sealing my kitchen counters so that is what I used.

Leaf Two

When I first saw this locust branch bowl, I didn't like it at all.

Step 1 - I painted it a mustard color.

Step 2 - I painted green over the mustard.

Step 3 - Wipe off some of the green.  When I did this, I also wiped off some of the mustard color and some of the cement color showed through.  It's hard to see that in the picture but I liked the way it looked.

Step 4 - I used a dark green and painted over the individual leaves.

Step 5 - When that was dry I painted over the bowl with Statuary Bronze that was watered down.

Step 6 - I wiped off the bronze and when dry, added the topcoat.

This begonia leaf was done in three steps, light green, bronze wash, then topcoat.

This leaf was painted green, then a red wash and topcoat.

 This is a huge leaf that I am using as a bird bath.  If you make one this big you will need to add some wire for added strength.  I cut up chicken wire into manageable pieces, added them to the cement covered leaf, and then covered them with more cement.  This leaf is about 25 to 30 inches across.
I hope you enjoy making these as much as I have.  Have fun and go for it.  If you don't like the end results, don't fret, it's only paint.  Happy painting.