If you’ve ever wanted to create textured artwork without spending a fortune on supplies, this hot glue leaf art project is perfect. It’s simple, beginner-friendly, and surprisingly therapeutic. Plus, you can easily customise it to suit your decor or the season.
What You Need
- Canvas in the size you want (I used two A5 ones)
- Hot glue gun and glue sticks
- Three colours of paint (I used yellow, red and brown for a fall vibe)
What to Do
Step 1: Sketch Your Leaves
Start by lightly drawing your leaf shapes onto your canvas. If you make a mistake, don’t stress. Erasing pencil from canvas isn’t easy, but since you’ll be painting over everything, I just scratch out the parts I want to change.
Step 2: Add Texture with a Glue Gun
Once you’re happy with your sketch, trace over the pencil lines with a hot glue gun. I prop up my canvas slightly to give it a bit of an angle, but you can work flat on a table too if that feels easier.
Take your time with this step. It is not so easy to fix any mistakes on canvas.
Step 3: Paint the Background
After the glue has fully dried, it’s time to paint!
For the fall-inspired version, I added red paint to one corner and yellow to the other, blending them in the middle to create a smooth gradient from red to orange to yellow. It gives such a warm, autumnal feel.
Depending on your paint, you may need a second coat. I did, especially over the yellow, where the pencil lines still showed through a bit.
Step 4: Highlight the Leaf Texture
When the background is fully dry, take a small brush and paint just the raised glue lines. I used brown paint to make the leaf outlines pop against the warm background. This gives your piece a subtle 3D look and really helps define the shapes.
Optional Colour Variations
Although I made this as a fall-themed piece, you can totally switch it up. For example, you can use blue and grey as the background, with white and silver paint for the leaves. It gives a cooler, more wintry vibe. Perfect if you want something more neutral or wintery.