Hi Creative Friends,
We are skipping our way toward the first days of Autumn and what better way to celebrate than a card design filled with festive pumpkins and an Autumn scene. I have always loved the Autumn Entrance stamp set (I am a sucker for quaint doors!) by Penny Black so when I saw a project by Mimi Jourdain, I had to try my own version.
I began with a slimline-sized cold-pressed watercolor panel and some distress inks. The distress inks will be my watercolors so with the panel placed it in my stamp positioner I stamped them with Black Soot distress ink.
This stamp set has nearly everything you need to set a scene, including a brick background stamp. So, while keeping the panel in the stamp positioner, I covered the window and door with Post-it notes (or you can make a proper mask), and lightly stamped the brick pattern using Rusty Hinge distress ink.
With a size 6 brush, I started painting the door and window. At first, I didn’t use any more distress ink. I know it sounds crazy but I just pulled the color from the stamped images using a wet brush. There is a lot of color there and I wanted a weathered look. When I did need a bit more color, I smooched a small patch of Black Soot and Vintage Photo onto my glass mat and used that as my palette. If you don’t have a suitable work surface for ink, then something like the Art Impressions Watercolor Palette (see supply list below) is perfect. I was very careful not to use too much color so I didn’t drown out the stamped image or make it too intense.
When it came time to paint the bricks, I again pulled the color from the bricks using my wet brush. There was plenty of color there, When I did need a little extra color, I used only a dash of very diluted Black Soot. Again, I was going for the old weathered building look!
For the porch area, I first sketched a few lines with a waterproof #03 Kuretake Zig Mangaka pen, then painted the area using more Black Soot.
The main scene was now done. While it was drying, I stamped the shrub and wreath onto a separate piece of watercolor paper using Wild Honey distress ink. Then painted the shrub and pot with Rustic Wilderness, a tiny dash of Peeled Paint, and Salty Ocean. The Wild Honey outline adds a little color too, making the blue a little more teal. The wreath was painted with Wild Honey, Vintage Photo, Rustic Wilderness, and Salty Ocean for the bow.
I took a break to make dinner (household chores always get in the way, don’t they?). When I came back, I stamped the pumpkins and wood basket with Wild Honey onto a piece of white cardstock, then colored them with Copic markers. You would think that I should have continued with the watercolor, and perhaps I should have. – so you certainly can. I guess I am so accustomed to coloring pumpkins with alcohol markers, I just went into automatic – ugh!
With all the pieces done, I cut them out with a small pair of detail scissors and stamped the panel with a sentiment. You can use any sentiment you might have but this one came from Penny Black’s new stamp set, Basket Builder. For a crisp impression, I used the waterproof VersaFine Clair Fallen Leaves ink.
To finish up, I mounted a Slate grey panel onto a white card base, then added a slightly smaller panel of Summer Sunrise. The watercolored panel was added next, then the little accoutrements (pumpkins, wreath, shrub, and wood basket) were arranged and added with a little glue or foam tape. And there we have it! ♥
Goodies Used:
