TMS #163: Autumn Leaves

Hi Friends! Are you ready for a new Tuesday Morning Sketch Challenge? This is the week for our Judged Challenge, which means there is a twist, in addition to the sketch, and this week's twist is "Welcome Fall." Our sponsor is Designed2Delight Digital Stamps. Be sure to check out their site--they have super cute hand-drawn images (I love the quirky birds!).

Fellow teamie, Dawn Barghorn, came up with a fantastic sketch for this week. I don't usually do well with symmetrical designs, but this one turned out to be a lot of fun for me. I think you'll like it, too.

Nothing says fall to me like the colorful leaves. Living in North Georgia, we experience the most beautiful autumns, when the leaves start to change. People make trips here, just to see them! And I had all these fall leaf stamps that came from the dollar bin--perfect! (The bare tree is the same stamp that I used for a Halloween card last year that has ended up being my most popular card ever. It's been viewed over 2,800 times on SCS!) For the "Autumn Leaves" text, I used multiple colors on the stamp, and the green leaf actually has a bit of brown on it here and there. How about the glossy maple leaf, huh? That was fun to make!

I had a scrap of unused glossy photo paper and used it for the leaf die cut. The die I used embosses and cuts, but I was worried about cracking the paper, so I didn't run it through my Big Shot a second time with an embossing mat, so the embossing is very faint. First, I used several colors of alcohol ink, one at a time, on a makeup sponge. I'm no artist, so I just randomly dabbed the colors and hoped for the best. Then, to show off the veins of the leaf, I used a Copic marker and drew them in. I had no idea what to expect, but I love how it pushed the alcohol inks around and only left an outline around my lines--kind of like raindrops might. The photo paper actually turned out to be pretty strong, so I lightly folded the leaf on all the veins, curled the ends a bit, then used a foam dot to adhere it to the center of the card. (I know I've said I don't use foam dots, but when it's something small like this, I do). ;) 
I decided to turn this into a Thanksgiving card, so I inked the Thanksgiving stamp with multiple colors, as I did the Autumn sentiment on the front. The tree border punch is one of the first ones I ever bought, and I don't use it often, but it was perfect for this card.

Okay, so now it's time for you to dust off those fall themed papers and stamp sets, and get busy! Wow us with a fantastic fall creation! Remember, this week is the judged challenge, so show us whatcha got! And, be sure to visit the rest of the DT, as well.

I'd like to enter this card in the following challenge:
Cute Card Thursday #233: Autumn Gold!
Creative Card Crew Challenge 19: Tree

Thanks for stopping by, and have a great day!

 

Stamps: Fall Mini Assortment (Studio 112); Haunted Tree (Inkadinkadoo)
Paper: Forever Fall Collection (Bo Bunny); glossy photo paper
Ink: Distress Ink; Memento; Copic marker; gold calligraphy pen; Alcohol Ink (Ranger)
Dies: Labels Sm, Assorted Leaves (Spellbinders)
Accessories: Enchanged Woods punch (Multi-Shaper II); corner chomper; Pearl Pen; foam dots; sewing thread
Size: A2 (5.5" x 4.25")

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