How to make skeleton leaves magnolia

There are only a few types of leaves that can make good leaf skeletons. Here is a very nice one:

Magnolia Grandiflora Linn



1. Prepare NaOH solution, at lease 10%
2. Put leaves into the solution and use microwave to heat it at maximum, for 5 min (the solution should turn dark green)
3. Stir it for a while, take the leaves out of the solution, and use a toothbrush to remove the brown part of the leaves at the back. (now the leaves should become soft)
4. put the leaves back into the NaOH solution and boil another 5min, then stir
5. take out the leaves, use toothbrush again to remove leaf meats as much as you can, for both sides.
6. wash the leaves in clear water
7. put the leaves in detergent solutions for a couple minutes to let them become more transparent (they should turn yellow)
8. wash off the detergent and use paper towels to remove excess water
9. put the semi-dried leaves into layers of recycle papers or a bad magazine or book you don't like, put heave items on top of the whole pile and let them sit for at least one day to completely remove water and make them flat.
10. take out the leaves. They should be dry and flat now.

https://www.amazon.com/scuster-of-texas-skeleton-magnolia/dp/B00655RR3M