Falling Leaves

Hi friends! It's Julee popping in with a fun autumn card featuring the August Stamp of the Month, Fall Background. I knew I wanted to do a blended background for this image, so decided to emboss it on white cardstock in dark ink for an emboss resist effect.

Once the leaves were embossed, I blended with Catherine Pooler inks (Merlot, Clay Mask, Catching Rays, and Rouge) all over the panel, then buffed with a clean cloth.  I sprinkled with water for a distress effect, then dried, and blended the same colors over the watered areas to bring back some of the vibrancy.

Next I pulled out the previously released Autumn Splendor set. The images in this set are larger versions of the ones in the background, so they pair beautifully together.  I stamped a couple of the leaves and two acorns, then blended with the same colors of ink and fussy cut.  For the smaller leaf in the center, I used one of the leaves left over when I cut my background panel down to size.  I arranged these in a cluser, then added to the lovely embossed sentiment from the My Thoughts of You set.

Fall Background is available for purchase, or you can earn it as a free gift with a $60 order in the month of August. Just add it to your cart and the discount will apply once your order total qualifies. If you're looking for another fabulous fall set, check out this week's Stamp of the Week, Leaf Silhouettes. It's on sale for just $5 through 8/30. Here's a card I made previously with it, the coordinating dies, and the Typewriter Text Background.

Thanks so much for stopping by! I hope you have a fantastically creative day!

Autumn Wreath

 

 Hello friend, Esther here today sharing this warm and cozy autumn wreath card. I started by stamping the smallest leaves and acorns (from the Autumn Splendor stamp set) in Versafine Clair Nocturne Ink and painting them with watercolors. After fussy cutting I added splatters in both walnut stain distress ink and white acrylic paint. 

 Next, I cut a ring using  the largest two Spellbinders nestabilities dies, and arranged my leaves/acorns around the circle using foam mounting tape for dimension. 

For the background, I stamped the NEW Fall Background in versamark watermark ink on kraft cardstock. I distressed the edges with my open scissors and inked all the way around with vintage photo distress ink from Ranger.  The last step was adding the sentiment in Fallen Leaves Versafine Clair Ink.

 ~~~This post contains affiliate links at no extra cost to you~~~

Looking Back on the September Release

 Hello, Hello!

Well, here we are, the last day of September!  Can you believe it!?  Before you know it Thanksgiving and then Christmas will be here.  

Christmas.  September has been all about Christmas!  I simply love this month's release.  Let's take a look at Vintage Van.  What a versatile set this is! Christmas, birthday, Fall.  It covers it all!  

I opted for the fall version of the van for this card.  I started by stamping the van in Versafine Onyx Black Ink and then watercolored it.  I used trees from the Scene Silhouettes-Trees Stamp Set and inked them up with distress inks shades of fall.  The foreground was done with distress inks as well; I smooshed them onto my craft mat and then used them to watercolor.   The leaves in the very front most foreground is stamped in the same color as the ground; the image is from the Falling Leaves Stamp Set.  Once I was done with finishing up little details here and there, I place the panel in the MISTI and stamped the sentiment, from the Fall Remix-Autumn Splendor Stamp Set in Versafine Black Ink.  A hemp twine bow finishes it off. 

Next up, the adorable gnomes.  

I went for a very simple look on this card with a very muted color palette.  I started with the igloo image from the Winter Hugs Stamp Set. 

I stamped it in a light grey, then masked it off and stamped the gnome.  Everything was colored in neutral shades of Copics with a pop of red added.  The igloo was even decorated for Christmas with the wreath from the Vintage Van Stamp Set.  'Peace on Earth' is also from Vintage Van.  

Next up, the gorgeous sentiment set, Holiday Greetings.  

The pine branch was stamped in various shades of green distress ink and was spritzed some with water to get the ink moving.  The branch is from the Christmas Pine Stamp Set.  Next I stamped the ornament from the Deck the Halls Stamp Set.  Initially I tried some no line watercoloring, but thankfully I had left the stamp in the MISTI so I was able to restamp in Versamark ink and heat emboss in gold when I decided the no line look did not work for this card.  

Once again I used the wreath from the Vintage Van Stamp Set and heat bossed it in the center of the ornament.  It was the perfect size! 

Lastly, I added layers of blues and greens in the background.  The sentiment was heat embossed in gold ep.  

That's it for me! I hope I have inspired you to get out your September stamps and play a little!  

Lee Ann 

Mixed Media, 3 Different Ways

Hello Friends! 

Today seemed like a good day to try something a bit different.  There were lots of bits and pieces on my desk- colored images, monoprints, and various other backgrounds.  I thought it would be fun to put some of these items to use and create mixed media cards.
 I think a lot of us have a certain idea of what mixed media is in our heads- lots of texture, layers, and lots and lots of products- sprays, pastes, metal items, tissue paper, pencils, crayons, gel mediums to name a few.  However, in the card making world, many consider a mixed media card to be two or more mediums on a card. 
So, here we go.  I have 3 different cards, varying in complexity and using different mediums. 
The first is super CAS!

The two mediums are watercolor and acrylic paint. 
Here is the how to~
The background panels are from a single monoprint using acrylic paint and a stencil.  If you are not familiar with monoprinting, it involves using a gel plate like the ones here.  Acrylic paint was dropped on and rolled out with a Printing Brayer.  The leaf panel is two stamps- the leaf is from the Autumn Splendor Stamp Set and the doodled square is from the Just Be Stamp Set. I stamped and masked the leaf onto water color paper, then stamped the square.  The image was then watercolored with Ken Oliver Color Bursts and fussy cut out. I doodled lines around my background panels using a Sakura Pigma Micron Pen.  Some acrylic paint splatters finish off the leaf image. 
The next card has a bit more going on~

The flower, which is from the Mason Jar Bouquet Stamp Set, was stamped with Versafine Onyx Black Ink on water color paper, painted with Ken Oliver Color Bursts and fussy cut out.  The background is stamped multiple times with the floral branch from the Birds and Blooms Stamp Set and colored with Prismacolor pencils.  I added dies cuts from a new die I was trying out and heat embossed a sentiment from the Singing Praises Stamp Set.   
This third card is what you may consider to be a more traditional mixed media project.  It was inspired by our own Julee Tilman! 

I had another flower laying around, wanting to be used on a card.  It was stamped on watercolor paper with Versafine Onyx Black Ink , water colored with Ken Oliver Color Bursts and then fussy cut out.  My mixed media panel was one I made when trying to replicate something that Julee had made.  Well, mine fell really short!  I was going to toss it, but, when placed next to the color orange, it suddenly came to life.  I also had a piece of patterned paper that had been spritzed with a couple of different shimmery sprays; the colors worked perfectly with the orange rose and the teal panel.  The sentiment is from the new, Sentimental Mash Up Stamp Set.  This card uses water colors, sprays, embossing paste and distress oxides. 

There you have it, 3 mixed media cards, all with very different looks.  Which do you like best? 
I hope I have inspired you to get messy today!

Thanks for stopping by and have a blessed week! 
Lee Ann 

Fall Is In The Air!

Fall is finally here! The weather is finally a little cooler and the leaves are starting to change colors - I love it!

Today's cards are perfectly fall and so much fun! We have a Remix - a  FALL Remix called - Autumn Splendor. I created some "falling leaves" layouts using two different papers and different mediums to see what the differences would produce - they both make me smile out loud and I can't decide which one I prefer!

The first card is a one layer card using Neenah Dessert Storm (kraft). The leaves were colored with Polychromos pencils which are so wonderful on kraft. The colors just pop! I tried to create some dimension with shadows. It was a fun challenge and I am really happy 
with the results.


My second card uses Canson watercolor paper, Brushos, and a Falling Leaves Stencil for a background panel and then for the focal point, I colored up the leaves with Inktense pencils for a watercolor look.



These were fun! I hope you are inspired to test out different papers and mediums and see what happens!

Thanks for stopping by!
Lyn

The Splendor of Autumn

Hello Everyone!

Lee Ann here, sharing cards using the new set, Autumn Splendor.  I have been crafting up a storm with this set, ever since it actually started feeling like fall here in St Louis.  I love the different sized leaves, allowing for a lot of flexibility with how you use the stamps.

I used the larger of the images for this card as I planned on covering the card front.  Once I stamped the leaves onto Neenah Solar White CS using Memento Tuxedo Black ink, I used the Typewriter Text Background Stamp-without mounting it on a block or the MISTI- and partially inked it with the same black ink and randomly stamped it over the leaves.  I love the texture it gives the leaves.
Then it was just a matter of coloring everything.  The entire card is colored with Copics, including the background.  I really did not do much shading. I tried to keep one half of each leaf darker than the other to give it dimension.  I colored the background similarly, darker around the darker side of the leaves.
The sentiment is heat embossed with Rose Gold embossing powder, which in real life, matches the orange colored leaves well.  I bit of linen thread behind the sentiment strip finishes the card.

My second card is water colored with my favorite Ken Oliver Colorbursts.  I love the vivid color you get with these powdered water colors. 

I did no line coloring; the leaves were stamped in Memento Desert Sand ink on water color paper.  I used the wet on wet technique, dropping in various shades or yellow, orange, and red.  When the leaves were dry, I added the veins with Burnt Umber paint.
I stamped the sentiment, from Inspirational Word Art 1 and then framed it with a scalloped rectangle die and patterned paper.  I embellished it with my leaves and a bow.

That's it for me!  Don't forget the New Release Blog Hop tomorrow!  

Happy Stamping! 

Lee Ann  

Autumn Splendor

Happy Monday! 

Today I am sharing a couple cards with you using the Autumn Splendor set that was just released today. This is a remix set and I absolutely love it! 

To create the first card, which is a one layer card.  I started with a white top folding card base, the Autumn Splendor set,  Fadeout ink and some colored pencils. I positioned the leaves in the Original Misti and then stamped them with Fadeout ink and the colored them with Polychromos colored pencils by Faber- Castell

The second card I stamped the leaves from the Autumn Splendor set using the Original Misti with my favorite embossing ink and then embossed them with Gold Rush powder. I added color to them by using the Life Changing Bender Brushes and some Gina K Designs ink. To finish the card I added some Peel Offs along the top and bottom of the panel. 

Autumn Splendor

Good morning! Today I have a sneak peek of the fun new release coming soon at Sweet ‘n Sassy Stamps! This month's release will be on October 7.

This stamp set is called Autumn Splendor and is perfect for your fall cards! I stamped the leaves on watercolor paper and then spritzed with water.

Have a great day and on Monday check out all the new stamps in this month’s release!

Diane