Autumn Sprigs
Posted: September 28, 2018 Filed under: Xmas sprigs | Tags: Catherine Pooler inks, Penny Black creative dies, Penny Black stamps 23 Comments
Our gratitude week continues both here and on the Foiled Fox blog. Next week we will return to our regularly scheduled programming but the gratitude themed posts will stay open for comments until the end of Friday October 5th. The Foiled Fox is giving away a $25 gift certificate to three of our readers who leave a comment here on my blog and/or on the Foiled Fox blog telling us something they are grateful for. It does not have to be related to art and craft at all. We will randomly choose a winner from each gratitude post and announce them on Tuesday, October 9th. Now before I move on to the card details I will add that I am very thankful for the people I have met through art and card making, those of you I know through this blog as well as those I have met in person at classes or crops. It is a great community that I love being involved in.
To create today’s gratitude themed card I used a Penny Black Christmas set. The only part of the set that is particularly Christmassy is the bauble hanging on one of the branches. I left that stamp out and used the other two that feature only leaves and berries. I used autumn tones too, three Catherine Pooler inks: spruce, bellini, shea butter. I started by inking the larger of the two stamps in shea butter ink then dabbed some spruce and bellini here and there on the leaves and berries. I spritzed the stamp with water then stamped on hot pressed watercolour paper. The inks had begun to blend after spritzing; I blended them more on the paper with a paintbrush. While there was still ink on the stamp I spritzed it and stamped again resulting in a paler image. I blended the pale leaves and berries with a brush too. I repeated the process with the large stamp then did the same thing with the small stamp and ended up filling 75% of the panel. You could leave the blending step out, I just like to get the look of painted leaves.
I did a little splatter in both spruce and bellini then moved on to the sentiment. To make sure my die cut sentiment and accent strips matched exactly I swiped the spruce inkpad onto some watercolour paper then let it dry. The CP inks are very juicy and gave great coverage. I added double sided adhesive to the back of the spruce coloured watercolour paper then die cut the word ‘thankful’ twice. The die is ‘thankful heart’ combined but I did a little surgery and removed the heart. I layered the two die cuts then worked out where I would put them on my leaf panel. There was an area where the ink and water had splodged so that was the perfect area to cover up with a sentiment. As I was using some stamped words right up next to the die-cut words I did the stamping first in my positioner so I wouldn’t have to try stamping around die-cuts already stuck down! I wonder how I knew to do that?! The stamped words are half a phrase from the very useful ‘happy snippets’ set.
I cut a very narrow strip of spruce inked paper with my paper trimmer (linked below) and used a dot adhesive to attach two pieces to the top of the panel. I know ribbon or twine might have looked nice but my matchy-matchy heart wanted spruce green so inked paper was the way to go. I trimmed the panel to match the card front exactly, which seems to be my preference currently and now I have another card to send to someone I am thankful for.
Supplies
Stamps: Christmas sprig, happy snippets (PB)
Die: thankful heart (PB)
Inks: spruce, shea butter, bellini (Catherine Pooler)
Paper: hot pressed watercolour paper
Also: glass mat, paper trimmer, stamp positioner, double sided adhesive sheets, dot adhesive
Heather Telford 
Love your beautiful card! I am thankful for the health of my daughter-in-law as she is pregnant with my first grandson!
Thank you.
How exciting to have a grandson to look forward to; I’m glad everything is going well.
This is just stunning! I grateful for our 18 month old granddaughter who is learning, growing and changing every day. Thankful for the technology that lets us see her every day even though she is across the country!
Thank you.
I am thankful for the same technology that enables me to speak to my family on the other side of the province and across the world!
Your card is lovely – your special touches make it a work of art! I lost my husband in March and I am grateful for the 28 years we shared and for the support and love of my children and step-children through this difficult time. They are always there for me and their caring is getting me through!
Thank you Maureen.
I am so sorry to hear you lost your husband recently. I am glad your children and step children have been a support to you. I hope you continue to feel the comfort of family and friends.
Just love this card. The stamps seem so versatile for year-round cards. I am grateful that I have loving family members, friends, and neighbors who live close-by.
Love how you’ve shown that this set doesn’t have to just be used for Christmas – the colors are so rich. I am thankful that this year, by God’s grace, I celebrated 35 years of marriage to my best friend!
What an absolutely gorgeous card, and wonderful idea for a giveaway! I am thankful for my husband and three (adult) children, and grateful that we are all in good health!
I love the way these inks have blended together and the softer images that support the main leaves! It makes me think of looking down a forest path. I’m thankful for God’s love and the wonderful people he has placed in my life.
I enjoy so much looking at your projects. I just love the watercolor look.
Wow this leafy card is Beautiful! I am so thankful for family!
Love this card 🙂
I’m thankful for my family, friends and all my hobbies 🙂
ooo I love this card! Super artsy, I think the loose watercolor style goes so well with the leaves images. I haven’t met many people through arts & crafts, but I’m grateful for my supportive non-crafter friends. 🙂
What a great combination for a fall card! Can’t wait to try it!!!!
This is gorgeous Heather and love the combination of that dark green with the peach and lemon colours and the second and third generation stamping to cover the card front, and also the strips of card and sentiment in the same spruce colour to give cohesion to the piece. I am thankful for all my close friends and family. x
Beautiful! I’m so thankful for fall colors!
Love your gorgeous fall card, Heather, & good to see Christmas stamps utilized for other seasons. I am most grateful for my wonderful husband who is battling cancer & still manages to be my rock!
I am thankful for God’s faithfulness and mercy.
I am especially grateful to two soldiers, one a medic, who saved my daughter-in-law’s life last Friday when she was severely injured during the tornado in Dunrobin, and to the amazing medical team at the Civic Hospital who have worked so tirelessly to keep her alive, stabilize her condition, and ensure that she will, over time, truly recover. I am also grateful for all the caring friends, relatives, and ‘associates’ whose prayers and general support have helped not only my daughter -in-law, but all of our family, through this very trying time…
I’m so sorry to hear your family is going through this Brenda. I am thankful your daughter in law received the rescue and care she needed after her injury. I pray her recovery will continue.
Beautiful as usual Heather, love your branching out lately. THANKS for mentioning the hot ptessed watercolor paper.
This card is strikingly beautiful!
I am grateful for each day and the opportunity it affords us to make someone smile through random acts of kindness.