Wowzers! Can you believe it is almost December!?! What! Where did the time go? The leaves are falling here and the days are growing colder. I don't really enjoy Fall or Winter but there are 2 special holidays during this cold time that I very much look forward to, Thanksgiving and Christmas! I was out in my back yard today watching the leaves fall and the dogs play and grabbed a maple leaf. It was so textural and pretty, I decided to use it on my design. It also reminded me of having to rake leaves when I was younger. We had more than enough trees, but the fun part was when my Golden Retriever decided to play in the piles of leaves. Good memories!
When Daylight Savings happened on November 1st, I knew the light change would alter how I photographed my art so this design was inspired by the leaves and the light change. I started with my leaf and painted it with Gold modeling paste. Then cut out a square from some thick paperboard and added the gold paste to it as well. I used my Emperors Gold silks to go over the gold paste (note the bumps and textures-my Gold Silks isn't so silky anymore, it seems to be drying out) :( Then came a wash of Spiced Pumpkin Silks. After the paste and Silks was dry, I added some DecoArt Antiquing Cream Raw Umber to the edges.
The leaf was popped up a bit with foam dots and a metal filigree charm was added. The A is self explanatory. I was able to use my new Dymo labeler by adding the word "Autumn".
While all of this was happening I had also cut out my base and applied the Silks Pumpkin to it as well. The crackle is a TH stamp and coffee archival ink.
Adding layers is my new challenge for myself, so I went about it. I used DecoArt crackle paste and the TH flourish stencil around the edge of the base. I did add some Distress Glitter to the wet paste. When it was dry I lightly sponged over it with coffee Archival ink.
The gold tassel is just for fun! The Gold frame is from a local craft store and "painted" with Gold Alcohol Ink then washed with the Emperors Gold Silks after applying some DecoArt Crackle Glaze.
I used my favorite glue, TomBow Multi to adhere the frame to the leaf piece.
The frame looks rather vintage now! Awesome sauce! I do hope you aren't too cold wherever you are and you maybe had some fun while reading this post. Happy Holidays and Carpe Diem! ~Niki
I would love to share this wall hanging with these amazing challenges:
