WhiMSy love: Celery Painting Tutorial

This project was featured in the February 2012 issue of Family Fun Magazine!!

A couple years ago I got this idea for painting with celery. I was cutting up some celery & was about to throw the uneatable bits away when I stopped & said, "Oh my goodness! This looks like a rose!" And so I painted a tablecloth the next day!

This morning I went to the fabric store & picked up some natural muslin at 99cents a yard. I got one yard. After it was washed & dried, it was ironed. Muslin gets quite wrinkly--but I like that, so that's why I chose this fabric.

Next I sewed up the edges to finish it off.

Ok, here I am really sewing it. The "tablecloth" ended up being about 3' x 3'. So, it's a tiny tablecloth. You could use any piece of fabric to paint on: a t-shirt, hankies, bed sheets, etc. You'll see some other ideas at the end of this tutorial too!

I used a bright pink thread for a fun little contrast.

The only ingredients you need for this project are celery, acrylic paint & a foam brush thingie. I guess I should mention that I use celery hearts. I have never tried this project using regular large packs of celery.

Cut the base of the celery off.

Here's a little hint. The closer to the base you cut, the tighter your "rose" will be. The higher up to the top you cut, the more open your rose will be. I cut two examples to show you. After testing them out on a piece of paper towel, I decided I liked the open rose better.

You'll also want to use the little celery bits in the center of the stalk. You'll be using these for the leaves of the rose.

If your celery rose "stamp" is damp at all, just dab it with a paper towel to remove the excess moisture.

Before I painted, I laid down some garbage bags underneath the fabric. The paint will bleed through, so you want to protect the surface you're painting on. (Although my dining table has always been covered in paint splotches, so I don't know why I bother being careful anymore!)

Use your foam brush thingie to dab paint onto the celery. I used a light pink color.

Then, firmly push the celery onto your fabric. Lift the celery straight up off the fabric to prevent smears.

When you've stamped enough roses all over your fabric, you're ready for the leaves. Dip the leaves into some paint.

Using your fingers, push the leaves into the fabric right next to one of your roses.

After stamping my pink roses, I realized they looked too light against my cream colored fabric. So, I grabbed some red paint & repeated the process--right over the top of my pink roses. I like the effect!

Here's an example of what the two different roses look like---one open & the other tightly closed.

Next I filled some of the empty space with polka dots using what else? Celery!

Using your foam brush thingie, dab some paint onto the end of a regular piece of celery that has been cut straight across. If you use the bigger end, you'll get bigger polka dots or "circles". I used the small end. It'll look like the letter "C".