I Can’t Leaf It Alone!

Today’s card is a CASE (Copy and Share Everything) of my upline and sweet friend, Susan Itell. I have always loved her work, and this card stood out to me as a fun one to try. She made it a year or two ago, so I thought is was good to recreate it and show it again. I’ve updated it ever so slightly. Here is my card:

I started with a base of Thick Very Vanilla Cardstock. (I think it’s important to use the thick paper for bases to give it stability.) Next comes a layer of Soft Suede, topped with a layer of regular Very Vanilla embossed with the Woodland Embossing Folder.

This is the fun part! Those leaves! I stamped the image from Colorful Seasons three times onto Watercolor Cardstock using Versamark Ink. Then I poured Clear Embossing Powder over them and heat set them. Here comes the magic…

Using my Aqua Painter, I covered each leaf with clear water. I made three little pools of ink into a plastic lid using a couple drops each of Crushed Curry, Cajun Craze, and Cherry Cobbler Ink Refills. Then I lightly dabbed each color into the wet leaf impressions in various places with my Aqua Painter. It takes a while to dry, so patience is a must. But the results are these stunning, brightly colored leaves that absolutely wowed me. Thanks, Susan! After they dried, I cut them out using the coordinating Seasonal Layers Thinlits Dies.

I finished the card by using a sentiment from Dragonfly Dreams, layered with Soft Suede, then placing the leaves around the sentiment and adhering them with Dimensionals. Three gold Metallic Pearls are the final touch.

Tip:  Here’s what I learned through the process of watercoloring these leaves… To get the bold, dark look, I had to use the Ink Refill drops as I described above. To get a softer looking leaf (maybe some that have been sitting on the ground awhile – ha!) use the ink inside the ink pad case. You know, the old squish the cover and pick up the ink from the inside of the case trick. I don’t know why, but the color produced was much paler, and dried almost pink, which wasn’t the look I was going for. But you might like it! Here is a photo of my first attempt:

Clearance Rack Bargains

I hope you are having a terrific week! If you missed this announcement before, the Clearance Rack has been updated. You should take a minute look (click HERE) and see what is drastically reduced in price that you can scoop up and smile. We all love a bargain, don’t we? Have fun shopping!

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