Box of Crayon Leaves

Good morning!  It's Holly posting today.  It alllllmost feels like fall here, because the mornings are just a tiny bit cooler and crisper than they have been over the past four months.  We are still in the 90's in the afternoons, so it's not quite there yet, but I do think there is some hope for some cool fall weather on the horizon.  So with that in mind, I had a lot of fun with today's card.  

I stamped the new Leaves background from Technique Junkies with a dark brown permanent ink onto some white cardstock and let it dry.  Then I had a blast watercoloring the leaves in various shades of yellow, orange, red, green, and magenta.  While this was drying, I stamped the sentiment from the Autumn set (Technique Junkies) with the same dark brown ink I used for the background.  That sentiment says it all, and it really does look like I used all the crayons in the box to color those leaves, doesn't it?  LOL

Please feel free to use this code, TJ10Holly, when you shop at Technique Junkies.  You'll save 10% off your entire order, so grab this beautiful new Leaves Background stamp and check out all the great fall stamps from this month's release HERE.  Have a great day!

  

Create "Anyday" Cards All Year Round!

 

We MUST remember to create “anyday” cards to keep on hand, and today I am sharing a lovely variation with the “Leaves and Berries” stamp. This stamp is part of the November 2021 New Stamp Release from Technique Junkies. 

I suppose it is intended to produce more “holiday-themed” projects, but when I saw this stamp I immediately thought of bright oranges, pinks, yellows and navy blue. 

First, I stamped “Leaves and Berries” in VersaMark ink and embossed with a navy blue embossing powder. This creates significant border lines inside all the leaves, which is essential when coloring in with watercolor or ink.

To color in the leaves, I simply used my Nuvo Water Pen and my Distress Oxide Inks. I just “smooshed” the ink onto a slick surface (I use an acrylic block or my craft mat). Then, I treated the ink like watercolor and just colored in the lines. For final touches, I used the remaining smooshed ink to create a “spatter” around the edges.

The “Thinking of You” sentiment is one of the “Four Little Sentiments” set. I stamped it with Archival Ink and die cut with a Spellbinders die that I had in my stash. Honestly, this card design is perfect to make a set of cards and then customize each card with a different sentiment from the set. I really like the nice font and it stamps beautifully!

Before I adhered all the parts together for my card, I used scrap pieces of navy blue and yellow cardstock to create some grounding for my sentiment. Just imagine this card without the navy blue strips of cardstock… the sentiment would be “floating” around on the background. If your cards look like they “need something”, try adding a solid color strip or two (or three) across the entirety of the card and THEN add the sentiment. It should be just what your project needs!

Thank you for looking!

Technique Junkies Stamps Used:

Leaves and Berries Stamp Set

Four Little Sentiments Stamp Set

Ideas for Background Stamps | Easy Window Card

 

Give your projects a little variety when it comes to using your background stamps! One way to create variety is to simply add a window. You don’t need special fancy acetate sheets (if you don’t have them); simply use a deli container or any clear flat packaging. Using Archival Ink, stamp your background on a pre-cut white card panel. Today, I am using the “Pile of Leaves” background stamp from Technique Junkies.

The "Pile of Leaves" stamp is part of the September 2021 NEW Release! You can save 10% every day at Technique Junkies with my personal coupon code to YOU: Use TJ10ERIN at checkout!

Use washi tape to temporarily adhere the stamped panel onto the front of your actual card base. Open up the card base and die cut a circle or other shape out of the front of the card. Then, remove the white stamped panel and glue the acetate (or clear plastic) to the back. It won’t matter that you can see the glue; it will be hidden when you adhere it to the card.

You can add any sentiment inside the card you want. I added a simple “Thank You” stamped image and embossed in white. To get my placement just right, I used my stamping platform and I also used the packaging from the stamp to help line up the sentiment on the platform. I wanted to make sure you could see the entire sentiment through the window, even when the card was closed.

I wanted to add one single colored leaf over top of the outline-stamped pile of leaves. So, I used some Shimmering Bliss Spray on some scrap cardstock and after the spray was dry, I stamped the background stamp on top. Then, I fussy-cut out one single leaf from the spray-inked paper.

The leaf was going to hang over the window a little bit, which was a nice touch. But when a leaf accent hangs over the window in the front, that means that you will also see the back side of the leaf accent through the window when the card is open. So I stamped again on a second piece of inky paper and glued it to the inside of the card, against the leaf showing through. 

For a finishing touch, I added some metal corner embellishments. And that’s it!

Thank you for looking!