SPONGED LEAVES

 Have I happened to mention how much fun I'm experiencing with the September 2021 Paper Pumpkin kit called Haunts and Harvest? Especially the stamps. And the stencils! Yes, stencils!

You see, when you punch out the leaves that come in the kit, you are left with a STENCIL! Yay! I love scrappy art supplies. Scrappy art supplies = the pieces that other "normal" people throw away. It is one of those "stencils" that I used for my card.

I used my paper trimmer to cut between the rows of leaves, preserving as much solid space above and below the punched out leaves as I could. This is necessary so when you are doing your sponging, the excess ink has someplace to go other than on your cardstock.

Once I had the rows of leaves trimmed, I cut a piece of Basic White cardstock in the same size. I put the stencil in place over the white cardstock, taping it lightly in a couple of places on the back of the cardstock so it didn't move out of place while I was sponging.

Using one of the Blending Brushes (wonderful things!), I sponged Pumpkin Pie ink through the holes to stencil leaves onto the white cardstock. I didn't want the leaves to be solid solid, so I varied the pressure and amount of ink. I like the variety the light/dark gives.

Once the sponging wasa finished, leaving everything in place, I stamped the veins for the leaves, using two of the stamps in the kit. I used Early Espresso ink for this step.

Now it was time to remove the stencil and go to work on finishing the card. 

I know sponging the edges of a piece isn't as in vogue as it was several years back. But I felt that the starkness of the white was just too much. So I used the same Blending Brush to add a little soft orange on the edges.

It was really easy and fun to finish the card. The Designer Series Paper I used for the background is one that I'd saved in my stash for a long time, just waiting for the exact right project to come along. And here it is! 

The treatment of the sentiment is thanks to a little retired ribbon and a couple labels cut with the Seasonal Labels dies (page 18 in the Mini Catalog). Notice the that long Early Espresso label has cuts at either end in which to run your ribbon through. Isn't that just cool? 

After stamping a sentiment from the Enjoy the Moment stamp set on page 26 of the Annual Catalog, in Early Espresso ink, I cut another of the labels from white cardstock. I added the label over the ribbon I had used with the larger label. 

At that point, I thought I was finished with the card. But the row of leaves was still bothering me. Something was missing. Searching through all my gemstone embellishments, I came across the perfect fix: some of the Gilded Gems (page 142, Annual Catalog) placed between each leaf and one at each end. Just right. As Goldilocks would say.

Are you a Paper Pumpkin subscriber? If so, are you having as much fun with this kit as I am? 

Paper

Smiles.