Falling Leaves

Evening Everyone,

It's been a miserable, dreary day here, even the cat was looking a picture of misery for much of it. She doesn't do rain and there was rather a lot of that!

I packed another three boxes today - only six weeks to go before the big day. The EM busied himself sorting out something in the mancave ... it's a bit of a no-go area for me so I have no earthly idea what he has stashed away that could take him the best part of a day to sort out, but it did :))

Whatever it was, it gave me the opportunity to sneak up to the craft room to finish of this card. It is the one that was lying in bits on my desk yesterday morning - you can check that out in the post here.

The topper was an excuse to try out my newest stamp - Hero Arts Overexposed Leaves - and a technique that was new to me involving VersaMark, clear embossing powder, distress inks a paint brush and a stamp block for a palette. I'd seen a video demonstration on YouTube and thought I'd like to try it out for myself. The patterned paper - a Nancy Watt design, Cute Creatures - that makes up one of the layers, provided the inspiration for the colours of Tim Holtz ink used - Scattered Straw, Dried Marigold, Shabby Shutters, Fired Brick, Vintage Photo and Aged Mahogany. The Darice folder, Fall Leaf Background, got it's first outing to create the embossed layer (Papermill Direct Kraft card). Stickles yellow glitter glue looks perfect in the centre of the tiny punched flowers.

To get the autumnal effect on this leaf stamp - a giveaway with Craft Stamper magazine - the ink pads were dabbed, starting with the lightest shade through to the darkest, working from the centre outwards. 

Other materials used:

• white card base
• snippets of card - smooth white for the topper, Papermania brown textured for matting and Core'dinations Tim Holtz Peeled Paint for punched leaves
• punches - small leaf (Woodware) and tiny cherry blossom
• Momento Rich Cocoa ink pad and stamp from Wild Rose Studio Everyday Greetings
• orange grosgrain ribbon from stash

I'd like to submit this card to the following challenges that all have a photo for inspiration:

Colour Throwdown # 262 

Addicted to Stamps and More Challenge #65 -

Papercraft Star Challenge # 164

Aren't the colours gorgeous. I once consulted a colour therapist and was told that these were my colours. I was a lot younger at the time and had red hair ... I'm not sure that now that I have grey hair that the advice still applies. However, they are still the colours I'm most drawn to. 

You might have spotted the mention of snippets in that materials list. And using up some snippets is all the requirement needed to allow me to skip over to my buddy Di's challenge blog:

Pixie's Crafty Snippets Playground - Week 92 

That's it for this evening. I'm exhausted so I'm off to spend an hour on the sofa watching TV with the EM before making it an early night. I'm well into a good book, Margaret Foster's The Memory Box, so I'm looking forward to reading a couple of paragraphs before falling asleep. 

I hope you are all having an equally entertaining evening too :)

Take care and happy crafting,