Monthly Discovery Hop
October 2023
Good day, fellow crafters. Welcome to the Re-Discovery Hop hosted by Tracy at @craftwithme101 !I’m so happy you are here today. The premise of this hop is to find the treasures hidden, instead of buying new supplies. We all have those drawers, bins, and shelves that have been tucked away and forgotten. I challenge you to root through them and rediscover what you have. I bet you’d be surprised! Please hop along with us to see what we created with our hidden treasures. If you’d like to join this amazing hop, please contact Tracy for more info. This month’s theme is Fall/Harvest. Fall symbolizes transition and change, mirroring the natural cycle of life. It's a time of harvest, gratitude, and reflection. The fall season also signifies preparation for the colder months ahead, emphasizing the importance of connections and support from loved ones. I hope you enjoy my submission to this challenge.
In crafting this card, I started by working on the background panel. Utilizing white Hammermill cardstock and Distress Oxide in Persimmon and Rusty Hinge shades, I blended the inks until I achieved the desired hue. My design aim was to evoke the rich, warm tones reminiscent of pumpkins often associated with the fall season. I think that the combination of those two colors really stand out as a good representation of what I wanted to achieve.
The next step was to create my focal point for the card. For this, I chose to use the Hero Arts Wheelbarrow Friends stamp set, featured below right. I first placed a piece of white Hammermill cardstock into my Misti stamping tool then aligned each of the stamps I wanted to use to
maximize the sheet as I didn’t want to create waste. I inked each stamp with black pigment ink and then with evenly applied pressure, stamped the images. I repeated this step at least twice to guarantee thorough coverage. Following this, I carefully removed the stamped images and affixed them securely to my work surface for the coloring process. Here, I employed my preferred technique: smooshed ink water coloring, adding a touch of creativity to the design. I took Distress Oxide in the colors Antique Linen, Rustic Wilderness, Weathered Wood, and Vintage Photo and smooshed a bit onto my glass mat. I then spritzed them lightly with water and by using my water brush pen I was able to pick up the pigments I wanted to color with to watercolor my images. I then allowed them to fully dry.
The next step I took was to use Spellbinders Essential Four Petal Label to cut my background to its final size. Since this is a nested die set it was easy to step up a couple of sizes to use to cut a black mat for added visual appeal. Once that was completed I adhered the two together with double-sided tape and then that composite to a pre-cut and folded white card base which I rounded the corners of to match the curves of the rest of the card.
Once the water coloring was dry I used the corresponding dies to cut out the shapes and then adhered them to the background panel. I then used the same black pigment and a sentiment stamp from the Wheelbarrow Friends set and stamped it in place. To give it just a bit more dimension I added some black flat back gems. With that I called the card complete.
