Happy Thanksgiving!

Hope all of you have a beautiful Thanksgiving day :o)

(click photo for detail)

Even tho it's harder to see in a scan than irl, I wanted to show you this card I made using a Pastel Chalk pencil for the coloring. It looks very cool in person, like sketching. It needs to be sealed with a matte fixative of some sort or you will loose the individual stroke lines.

STAMPS: main image - from a retired Stampin' Up! set, sorry I don't know the name, for some reason I just have the one stamp, greeting - Paper Inspiration, leafy vine - PSX

INKS: Marvy Matchables #18 Dark Brown, Stampin' Up! Pumpkin Pie and True Thyme, Signo Uniball white gel pen

SUPPLIES: piercing tool, brayer, magic mesh, sponges, Tim Holtz distressing tool, gold brads, SU lg. corner punch, white gesso

TECHNIQUES: Painted Mesh - current Technique Junkies newsletter, Faux Stitching - April 2006 newsletter

NOTES: the green cardfront was distressed by running the brown pad over it repeatedly, starting at the edges ~ the corners were stamped with the main image, then sponged with the same ink around the edges

Thanks for stopping by!

Thanksgiving Cornucopia

Thanksgiving isn't too far away, so here's a card in a style that would be nice to send to someone you can't be with to let them know you think of them. Sorry I can't include this one in the weekly drawing as I designed it for Wood-n-Paper, Ink and it will be going there shortly. Just couldn't resist sharing it :o)

Card measures 4 1/2" x 5 3/4"

I started with a cornucopia stamp (Wood-n-Paper Ink), stamping it in Palette Burnt Umber on a cream cs piece. I colored it in with colored pencils, and stenciled the same ink around the edges.

I used a torn post-it to cover the main image, and then dipped an old wet toothbrush into a black pan watercolor and flicked it over the panel. It lacked a little definition so I just ran the Burnt Umber pad around the edge to darken it up.

To make the background panel, I used the TechniqueJunkies Milkpaint technique. This is a free sample technique with a link on the main page (see link on sidebar) and looks exactly like the online tutorials you will have access to every day of the year with a really reasonably priced subscription - less then a magazine subscription price and SO much more worthwhile! PLUS, you can belong to the online email group and get the most amazing artwork in your inbox every day to inspire you, and share your's with others who appreciate it.

Okay, so this technique is SO quick and easy but gives a definite feel to the card. It calls for white ink, but I wanted to stick with my color palette, so I used Fresco Medici Marble instead, and then a dark brown marker instead of black.

*tip*

Don't worry too much about the plank ends with nails yet - I had to place more on the card once I had the other elements glued down for balance.

On top of this background I layered an orange scrap I had run the Burnt Umber pad over lightly, and on the brown piece I used the Tim Holtz distressing tool to rough up the edges. I put antique copper brads in the corners of the main image panel, and then pop-dotted it over the colored layers.

*tip*

When you need to pop-dot a large panel, consider using the foam tape that comes on a roll, usually 3M, I got mine at an Office Max. If you use the dots and don't get enough on in the right places, your panel can eventually 'sink' in these spots and look uneven.

For the phrase (Wood-n-Paper, Ink) panel, I stamped it on cream cs in Burnt Umber and then stenciled the edges with the same ink. (This stamp is so cool - if you click on the picture to look at a close-up you'll notice that the letters are made up of wheat!) I pop-dotted this and tucked some of my bargain leaf embellishments around LOL from my Joann's pile a week ago, using Glue-Dots.

Thanks for looking!