Here’s a cozy little project for crafty friends who want to bring the real world into their digitals. In this tutorial, I’m bringing autumn leaves and other items from my space right into Canva. Think waxed leaves, feathers, grandma’s buttons, even that charming old key you found in the garden. We’ll photograph a few treasures on white card stock, pop them into Canva, use Background Remover to cut them out, and then go to town building digital journal pages and printables. If tech usually makes you nervous, don’t worry, I promise this is very beginner friendly. So…grab your phone, a cup of something warm, and let’s make some digital magic.
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Let’s start with my fall ritual. Every year when the leaves start to change here in New York, I collect my favorites and preserve them with wax paper. This is a grade school trick I still love and use each year to preserve nature and bring the outdoor beauty to my indoor decor. This process involves irining the leaves between wax paper. I tuck the leaves between wax paper, protect my surface with towels, and press them with a hot iron for a few seconds at a time. The wax seals in the color, flattens the leaf, and makes it so much easier to work with. The result is simple and lovely for decor, and today we’re giving those leaves new life not just in our indoor space, but in our digital space as well.
For those of you new to the waxed leaf process, just grab some waxed paper or a waxed deli pouch. Place your leaves between the wax paper or into the pouch and add some paper towel between your ironing surface on the bottom and between your iron and the wax paper. This stops the wax from getting onto these surfaces.
Next up, iron the leaves between the wax paper for about 8-10 second with a hot iron (I use the highest setting).
Don’t iron too long or you could burn the leaves. You’ll know they are ready when the wax has moved from the paper onto the leaves. The leaves become flat and preserved for a short period of time. The flattened leaves are what we need for our next step.
Now onto the digital studio. Open Canva and create a new blank design. I used 11 by 8.5 inches because it fits my junk journal layout, but you can choose any size that suits your project. If you’re working in one of my Canva journal templates, great. If not, no worries. Everything I’m about to show you works perfectly on a plain canvas too.
Time to grab your phone. Place your object on a white background. White card stock is my favorite because it’s bright and smooth, but white copy paper works too. Good light matters. Head outside on a cloudy day or set up in bright shade. Cloud cover softens harsh shadows and gives you even light from all directions. If you can’t get outside, try a bright window, but watch for shadows from lamps or your own hands. A little tip I use all the time: zoom in with your phone so you can photograph from farther back and avoid casting a shadow over your subject.
Before you upload, do a quick two-second edit in your phone’s Photos app. Tap Edit and nudge the exposure or brightness up so the white background looks really white and your object pops. High contrast helps Canva separate your item from the background, which means cleaner cutouts and fewer touchups later. Don’t overthink it. A small tweak is enough.
Here are some of the original photos I started with.
In Canva, go to Uploads and bring in your photos. Click the image to drop it on your page, then use the Background Remover tool and WHA-LA! cue the confetti. The white disappears and you’re left with your pretty leaf or button floating on a transparent background. Change your Canva page color to black for a second and you’ll really see how clean the cut is. If the tool misses a tiny bit, click the Background Remover tool again to open the fine-tune panel. Choose Erase, adjust your brush size, and tap away stray fuzz, string ends, or the center holes of buttons. I love how precise you can get inside button holes or around a filigree key.
Once your object is cut out, the fun begins. Resize using the corner handles. Rotate with the circular handle. If you’re working over a frame or a photo spot in a layout, lock the background layer first so your leaf doesn’t accidentally drop into the frame. Ask me how I learned that one. If something lands in a frame by mistake, just undo and try again.
Want to color-tune your finds to match a spread? With the object selected, click Edit and explore the Filters. Latte warms up rusty keys and makes details glow. Nordic can cool a too-orange leaf in a very pretty way. You can slide the intensity so your edits stay subtle. Try a black-and-white filter on a stamp for a vintage vibe. The point is, you have so much control. You do you.
Buttons and brads are extra cute. Photograph a handful on white card stock, cut them out, and then crop to isolate one button at a time. Tuck them along an edge, stack them over a tag, or line up three for a tidy embellishment. If you took a picture of Chicago screws or brads, place them over label plate holes and it looks wonderfully realistic. A tiny rotation makes them feel less copy-paste and more handmade.
Speaking of label plates, digitize those too. I photographed a little metal plate, cut it out, and dropped it onto my page. Add text with Canva’s Type tool. Change the font, size, and color until the vibe is right. Instant journal cover. If your plate has openings, you can even slip a stitched line behind it for dimension.
Stamps are another really fun item to digitize. Grab your favorite block or cling stamp and stamp a design with black in on white paper. Take a photo of the stamped image with your phone and upload to Canva and remove the background. Now that stamp is a reusable PNG you can resize without losing crispness. Duplicate it for a layered look, and nudge the color warmer with a filter if you want that tea-stained feel.
Ready for the crowd favorite? Stitching. Sew a few lines on white card stock with your machine. Zigzag, straight, a little messy. Photograph, remove the background, then crop to a section. Rotate and lay it along an edge and suddenly your digital page looks touchable. If you really want to geek out, check out what I did in the video with a pin and shadows for a cool 3D look.
A few quick pro tips from my table to yours:
If you’re wondering about Canva access, Background Remover is a Canva Pro feature. Good news though. Canva offers a 30-day free trial, which is plenty of time to build a stash of cutout elements you can use in your journals, planners, cards, and printables. After the trial, keep going monthly or yearly if it serves you. No pressure from me. I just love sharing tools that make creating easier and more fun.
Imagine the possibilities.
Autumn leaves for a cozy spread. Grandma’s buttons sprinkled like candy. Pressed flowers on a wedding memory page. Feathers, pins, lace trims, ticket stubs, your favorite charm. All the textures we love, ready to layer without bulk. That’s the magic of mixing real-world treasures with digital play.
I’d love to see what you digitize first. Are you a leaf person, a button collector, or a vintage key hunter like me? Tell me in the comments. And if you try this, share a photo of your page. Happy crafters inspire happy crafters.
Ready to play along? Gather a few bits from your stash, snap them on white card stock, hop into Canva, and follow the steps above. When you’re done, pop your PNGs into a journal page or print them for a hybrid make. Have fun with the process and remember, happy accidents are part of the charm.
Before you head out, I’d love for you to watch the tutorial on YouTube and craft with me in real time. Try the project, tag me if you share, and let me know what you want to digitize next.