Hi Crafty Friends,
Are you seeing signs of Autumn yet? Here at home in the San Francisco area, we are just now getting a few cooler days and light breezes. It is a welcome change from the unusually hot summer we’ve had. The slight change in weather and the new “Lovely Leaves” stamp and die set by Ink To Paper, inspired this Autumn card design.
By the way, we are lovin’ the Ink To Paper collection. Check them all out here.
The leaves in this stamp and die set are awesome! Since there are several different leaves, I had to stamp all of them (which by the way, created a ton of leaves… so stay tuned tomorrow for version 2). I used distress inks to stamp them all. The technique I used was to ink the stamp with one color all over, then before I stamped it onto the paper, I would add another color on top in some areas, like the tips and a little on the body of the leaf. This created a mottled look. The veining was added using a complementary ink color.
To give you an example, the bluish-green leaf I stamping was first inked with Shabby Shutters all over, touches of Evergreen Bough were added (especially on the tips), then stamped on the paper. The companion ‘veining’ stamp was added to the leaf using Forest Moss. I continued stamping all the leaves just like this one. Here is a guide to the colors I used for the 4 main leaves (and the woven background).
After all the leaves were stamped, they were cut out using the matching dies, then set aside.
While I was in the stamping mood, I stamped the background onto a white card stock panel using the super cool Loosely Woven stamp by Ink To Paper and a few distress inks (Antique Linen, Scattered Straw, and Crushed Olive). The edges were trimmed and deckled with deckle scissors (see supply list below).
Next, I stamped a label from another fabulous Ink To Paper stamp and die set, Framing Florals. I used Versamark ink, then heat embossing it with Hero Arts Copper embossing powder. The label was cut out with the coordinating die.
For the sentiment, I hand-lettered ‘Dear Friend’ onto the label, then cut out two – Hello’s from a Concord & 9th die set, Laurel Frame. The first Hello was cut from a scrap of Desert Storm and the second one was cut from Neenah white cardstock, which was then colored with Copic markers: Y15, Y38, YR09, and E23.
The Desert Storm ‘Hello’ was mounted onto the label and the other Hello added on top with a bit of foam tape, giving it a dimensional look.
With all the pieces done, it was time to assemble. Using a Desert Storm card base, I added a slightly smaller white card stock panel on top. Next came the Woven background.
I added the label with some foam tape while tucking a few leaves from my stack around and slightly under the label.
And there you have it, that was the last step! We are now ready for Autumn! 🍂
Goodies Used:
