WWC86 Gail's Simply Stamping Challenge - FALL

Whew, what a weather change over the weekend! We went from sunshine and warmth to gray skies and rain!  Not to be deterred, my friend and I decided to go to the wonderful Fall Country Fair in Mt. Lehman and see what they had to offer.  Normally when I've gone the the sun is shining, there's that cool crisp feel in the air.  Not today!  The poor vendors and visitors were subjected to Monsoon type rain.  

And, as if the weather wasn't enough a transformer or something blew and all the inside venues were in the dark.  Outside it was absolutely pouring cats and dogs, so folks were huddled under tents or running from one event to another.  I saw a lot of smiles though, so people were enjoying themselves.

When we were leaving we had to run a half a block from the hall to the car.  I had water dripping down my neck, hair plastered to my head, and squishy runners. What fun, I felt like I was six years old as I ran through the puddles.

When I got home all I wanted to do was dry off, grab a mug of hot chocolate, and spend the rest of the afternoon in my stamp room by the fireplace. It actually worked out great because it put me in the mood to work on Gail's WWC86 Fall Simply Stamping Challenge.  

Here's My Card:

Gail's challenge photo inspired me to grab my Fall colours and one of my new stamp sets Jar of Haunts to create a colourful Pumpkin patch. 

Jar of Haunts Photopolymer Stamp set Coordinates with the Everyday Jars Framelit Set

Unfortunately my enthusiasm and creativity ground to a halt fairly quickly.  Why?  Well this is a "simply stamping" or "clean and simple" only challenge, and I had to really think about what I was making.
I don't know about you, but I find "simply stamping" a real challenge because it means there are no additional layers or card stock, other than the one you're stamping on.  And, it also means no die cuts, no bling, no ribbon and/or additional accessories allowed on the card.  Once again, "simply stamping".  

Supplies:
Stamp Sets:  Jar of Haunts, Thoughtful Branches, Thankful Forest Friends (R), Itty Bitty Stamp set
Ink:  Early Espresso, Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie, So Saffron, Tangerine Tango
Card Stock:  Always Artichoke, Ivory Flecked Specialty Card Stock (R)
Accessories:  Trimmer, Tom Bow Adhesive, Wink of Stella, Blender Pen, Aqua Painter.

Assembly:
1.  An Always Artichoke card base was cut to measure 8 1/2" x 5 1/2" and scored at 4 1/4" for a side fold card.

2.  A 5 1/4" x 4" piece of Ivory Flecked Specialty card stock was used for the watercolour layer. I love this card stock even though it's been retired for a while, and kept a huge stock on hand.  Its rough texture and porous nature make it work with water colouring techniques as long as you don't saturate the paper.  

3. The pumpkin images were created using a mask.  To make the mask  I simply stamped a pumpkin image onto a Post It Note then fussy cut around it, retaining some of the sticky part.  I stamped the first pumpkin in Early Espresso ink and then applied the mask then stamped the second pumpkin.  I repeated this for the third pumpkin.  Note:  Early Espresso is a classic ink and not really made for water colouring.  A better choice would have been brown Staz on Ink or Black Archival ink.   

4.  Place the mask over each pumpkin before stamping the pumpkin handle and tendril leaves. The leaves were stamped in Old Olive and a blender pen was used to move the colour around.  An aqua painter and sponge dauber were used to colour the pumpkins, again in Pumpkin Pie, Tangerine Tango and So Saffron.  Parts of the pumpkins were shaded with Old Olive ink. 

5.  I added a grass texture with a stamp from the Thoughtful Branches stamp set in Always Artichoke and Old Olive.  I sponged the bottom of the card with Old Olive to build up the grass.

This stamp set is still available in my On Line store.  It was the August special. 

6. Pumpkin Pie, Tangerine Tango, So Saffron, and Old olive inks were sponged around the top and sides of the card face.  Note:  Always begin your  blending from off the card stock moving towards the center, so you don't get harsh ink marks.

Originally I planned to create a tree trunk and branch starting from the bottom left of the card face and overhanging the pumpkins.  I began by using a stencil with diamond shapes on the upper half of the card, in hopes of creating a leaf bower effect.  Well that didn't turn out as planned, so rather than scrap the card face I blended out the diamond shapes with a sponge dauber.I created a much denser sponging than I had anticipated but it worked to mask off the diamond leaf effect.

7. The sentiment "Give Thanks" from the Thankful Forest Friends retired stamp set was stamped in the upper left corner in Early Espresso Ink.

8.  I cut and adhered a 5 1/4" x 4" piece of Ivory Flecked DSP to the inside of the card and left it blank. 

9.  To finish the card I used a small dotted texturizing stamp from the retired Itty Bitty stamp set to add tiny dots in Old Olive and Early Espresso ink across the face of the card. The pumpkin tendrils and outlines of the Pumpkins were traced with Wink of Stella.

Despite my initial hesitation and grumbling, I finished this card in record time and really enjoyed how it turned out.  I hope you like it too!  Leave me a comment.  I hope you'll check out the rest of the Watercooler Wednesday design artists and that you'll try out our "WWC86 - Simply Stamping" Challenge.  We'd love to have you come and join us this week. 

Happy Stamping!
Penny Tokens Stampin Spot

September Hostess Code:   2KDCKBQE
Click here to go to my On-Line Store.  Don't forget to apply the Hostess Code if your order is under $200.00 and I'll send you a gift for shopping with me.