October 15, 2020

Falling Leaves in the Autumn Breeze

Can you smell the beautiful season of Autumn? Have you noticed the subtle drop of leaves? Soon the colors of Fall will surround us like a warm comfy blanket on a cold day.

Pumpkin everything came out in August this year! Early, right?! NO! Let me just say, my first sip. this year, of Cold Brew with Pumpkin Cream was ridiculously AAH-MAZING!

“My favorite color is October” ~ unknown

I love this quote! It’s a fabulous observation that describes the beginning of Autumn perfectly!

I think this quote may possibly hold true for me and it was the inspiration for my card. Like many of you, Fall colors, cool breezes and the fabulous scents of pumpkins, apples, cinnamon, and wood burning fireplaces/fire pits, bring excitement and anticipation of fresh clean air and the coming Holidays.

“Booker Autumn”

I have to admit, if you are familiar with my Digi Doodles, you will notice I have many, many girly images, a few men/boy images, and lots of little cute critter images!

While I often work with my girly and critter images, today I wanted to give equal time to create an Autumn inspired card using “Booker Autumn”. This little sweetie inspires me, and reminds me of my son.

First Things First…

I sized and printed my image on to paper designed specifically for coloring with markers (full supply list below). Don’t worry, it’s ok if you don’t have marker paper, cardstock or mixed media paper will do. But, you will have much better results when blending marker colors on paper designed for that purpose.

For more info on types of paper, visit my Cools Tools section on Artist Paper

FYI: If you are new to digi stamps, and unsure of how to size and print your images, I have an easy FREE Tutorial using Microsoft Word that you can download instantly from my Digi Doodle Studios store website.

So here I have my printed image ready to color.

I knew early on, that I wanted to create a single layer with a blended background. But, since my image is already printed out, I will have to mask Booker so I don’t blend over him when coloring my background.

Protecting Booker…

There are a couple of ways you can mask your digi stamp images, but whichever way you choose, you will need to use masking paper.

Masking paper has low tack, is easily repositioned, and won’t harm your image in any way.

One way, and probably the most common way, is to print your image again, (exactly as your first print) on to a piece of masking paper, fussy cut it, and place it directly over your image.
Another way, and the way I masked my image for this project, is to use a Cricut or Silhouette machine to cut your mask out. I prefer to use my die cutting machine because fussy cutting intricate cuts takes me too long…and I can be doing something else while my machine is working for me! It’s a win win!

Time to Blend…

I die cut my image with a slimline stitched rectangle to give me a sense of how I wanted my background to look.

Once, I cut my mask and applied it to my image it was time to blend.

I also masked my die cut piece with masking tape because I wanted to keep a white border around my image, and it also helped to keep my paper in place while I was blending my inks.

Using the same inks, I carried the colors to the upper corner by dabbling some leaves and fading them downward, using a small course sponge. It was not intended to be a focal point, but in my final piece, it served as a little background imagery.

Let the Ink Flow…

With all the background work done, it’s time to color my image! I chose to use Copic Markers, but of course, there are so many art mediums you could use. It’s really just a matter of preference on what you color with for any given project.

I’ve used other alcohol markers over the years, but I love the ease of Copic Markers more than many of the others out there. The paint brush-like nib on a Copic Sketch Marker allows the ink to flow freely, smoothly, and makes blending very easy.

Putting it all Together…

For my card base, I cut out a piece of Kraft Paper and die cut a stitched border.

A die cut a cloud with a little color and several stitched leaves of Digi Doodles fall pattern paper started to bring my card together.

To complete my card, I printed a birthday sentiment and attached with a piece of natural twine and a few enamel dots, and my card was finished.

I hope I have inspired you today to try something new, or simply create something Fabulously Heart-Warming to bring you, or someone else, a little bit of joy for the moment.

Happy Crafting Friends…

My Supply List:

Paper:

Stamps:

Digi Doodle Studios Booker Autumn

Markers:

Copic Markers: E00 E11 E13 E15 E18 E23 E25 E27 E29 E31 R30 R32 R39 B0000 B26 B95 YR21 YR23 Y38 Yr24 YR12 YG97 G43
White Opaque Gel Pen

Distress Inks:

Die Cuts:

Misc Embellishments:

Enamel Dots

Tools:

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Every day is a gift…so do something today that brings you, and others, great joy!