A blog devoted to the cards I make in my tiny upstairs space. When my sister stays there, she calls it an "artist's garret". I'm not an artist, but am an enthusiastic cardmaker - hence the title "Cardmaker's Garret".
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Tuesday 2 October 2018

Falling Oak Leaves

Hello everyone!  CAS Watercolour is turning two.  So come and join in the celebration - there are prizes this month!

 
Now on to the October CAS Watercolour Challenge!   This month, Bonnie is hosting and she's chosen a challenge that really fits autumn:


I went with falling oak leaves, using an old but much loved (by me) SU set, French Foliage.


I put the oak leaf stamp into my MISTI and used three scraps of watercolour paper since I was planning on fussy cutting.  I sprinkled green, brown, and orange Brushos randomly on the stamp, then spritzed with my mini mister (a regular mister gives way too much water for this type of stamp).  I then stamped.  I got a lovely mixture of the three colours, with some blending but not too much.  I wiped off the stamp and repeated the process on the other two scraps of watercolour paper.   I left them to air dry as I didn't want the heat tool blowing the wet Brushos around and causing more blending.  Then fussy cut them.

I stamped my sentiment in brown on a piece of cs and die cut it with a Sizzix label die.  As I was trying to decide on an arrangement of the leaves on it, I decided it looked too plain and boring so used the splatter and postmark stamps from the same set with a very pale ink - even with the pale ink, I stamped off each time on scrap paper so that I could get second generation stamping.

I then lightly sponged around the edge of the panel to give it some definition from the card base and popped it up on fun foam.  Last of all I attached the leaves by gluing down the stems and upper bits of the leaves and popping up the majority of the leaf with foam tape.

Here's a close-up of the lovely mixture of colours on the leaves:


Please come and join us with a clean and simple card, using some kind of watercolouring and the challenge colours.  There is lots more inspiration over at CAS Watercolour from the rest of the Design Team and our talented Guest Designer, Brenda (Friends Craftin' with Friends).  You have until October 24th to link up.  And just in case you're wondering, it does not have to have an autumn theme - I'm sure our participants in the southern hemisphere aren't feeling at all autumnal!




Supplies:
Stamps - SU French Foliage and sentiment
Ink - Versafine Vintage Sepia, Adirondack Lake Mist
Paper - watercolour paper, white cs
Size - 6"x4.25"
Accessories - orange, brown, and green Brushos, fun foam



14 comments:

  1. Wow Susan, this card is stunning! I so love how your leaves turned out, very beautiful indeed! Not feeling fall here in PA either, first time I remember still using the AC in Oct. But I'm not complaining as I'm not ready to let go of summer, just the rain. lol It was fun doing the challenge with you! Hugs, Brenda

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  2. AMAZING! This has to be one of my favourite cards that you've made. The colours of the Brushos are so deep and beautifully blended. Love the soft stamped background that adds a special detail without taking away from the beautiful oak leaves. Great design, my friend! xx

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  3. What beautiful leaves, Susan! If I could keep one leaf stamp set, it would be French Foliage. It's a classic! Your Brushos have blended perfectly. I need to try the Brushos on a stamp again. I didn't have success before, but I love how yours came out. Maybe another try is in the future.

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  4. What fabulous Brushoed leaves Susan and love the way you sprinkled them onto the stamp and spritzed, and this has given them a less dense finish which suits the Autumnal look perfectly. I love the soft background stamping and splattering, and also the blending round the edges of the mat too. A beautiful card. x

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  5. amazing mix of colours with the wet brushos, I never think of doing this. You might have to give me a lesson when we get together. Great fussy cutting around the leaves and love your background stamping on your frame.

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  6. I LOVE this card with the gorgeous Brusho stamped oak leaves, Susan! The colors of the leaves are so beautiful. The stamped-off subtle splatters and postmarks add so much interest to the background. Sponging around the edges is perfect to give warmth and definition to the panel. The placement of the leaves and the shape of the front panel are well thought out. Fantastic job!
    Hideko xx


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  7. So much interest on your fabulous and artsy card Susan. Those leaves are amazing and loving the technique. The delicate background stamping sets them off beautifully....Stunning card x.

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  8. What gorgeous leaves and I bow to you for fussy cutting all those! You used a great combination of color on these.

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  9. This card is delightful, Susan. The colours are so vivid like the autumns we have here in the Laurentians. Quite the beauty you made ...full of cheer, perfect for Thanksgiving xx

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  10. You have me soooo inspired, Susan to get my "French Foliage" set out. That is still one of my very favorite sets..thanks for the reminder. I LOVE your Brushos watercolored shades of Orange, Green and Brown on your leaves, 2nd generation stamped background and sweet Teeny Tiny sentiment. TFS my friend. Hugs...

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  11. CAS perfection Susan...absolutely STUNNING!! I so wish I had picked up on that stamp set when it was available...I think it would have been one of my favorites too!! I love how you used the Brushos directly on the stamp...I have never tried that and definitely am going to after seeing this beauty!! Lovely, lovely card my friend!! :0)

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  12. love the look you achieved with your leaves Susan, great idea to frame them too...great Autumn card mf.
    xx Karen

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  13. Just beautiful, Susan! You do wonders with Brushos. This is a tough colour combo, but you made it look easy. Love the look of your leaves. Thanks for the mini mister tip. xx

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  14. I love your vibrant leaves! Great idea to use Brushos:)

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