For a Friend

Hello!  I hope you are enjoying your weekend!  It is beginning to feel  a little like fall here in the south--finally!  We usually keep our humid conditions until October, but it is cooler today.

I made this card especially  for a well-loved artist out there in blog land.  I have chosen to use a technique I know she enjoys and employs quite often in her wonderful work.  I have also chosen to add a crow or a few, because they are one of her favorite birds.  She has been a terrific inspiration to me and others alike, so I wanted to send her a card to honor her.  Shhh!  Can you guess who it is?  Here's my card, and it's in the mail already.

I was trying to get a photo in the sun to show the metallic flecks of copper of the leaves, but the sun wasn't  cooperating!

I stamped a Stampin' Up tree image in Archival Ink, used the water coloring technique as described below, stamped the crows by Hampton Art and Tim Holtz, and sentiment by Stampin' Up also in Archival, and then heat embossed the "leaves".  I distressed the panel's edges and adhered it to the card blank.  I purposely did not ink the edges, because I wanted to really focus on the colors of the focal image.

There's a fun challenge at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Rock the Techniques with some really great inspiration from the design team. They want to see what we've got! Hop on over and check out all the great techniques and make sure to link up your entry. My technique used is to swipe some Distress Ink onto my craft mat and then swish and smoosh my paper through the puddle, drying with each pass.  I also use my mini Distress Inks in the same way on my craft mat, and use my waterbrush to add details.  I have also used a dry brush technique to add "grass".  Another of my favorite techniques is an old one--using heat embossing.  I used orange and copper embossing powders, Versamark Ink and a stamp from Stampin' Up to make "leaves".

Another blog challenge with some fantastic inspiration is Inspiration Emporium's Inspiration Journal Fall Is In the Air. If it's a part of your fall, then it's a part of theirs!  They have a generous $50 gift certificate to Inspiration Emporium's on-line store to give away to the winner of this challenge. I think my fall scene is reminiscent of an early fall day in the country.

Eileen Hull's Art With Heart Challenge Fall Back wants to see how we'll interpret fall in her challenge.

The Artistic Stamper Creative Team Blog September Challenge "Autumn Colours" says we can interpret their theme any way as long as it has a stamp on it.

I would also like to join in with"Trees With Autumn Colors" Challenge #82 at Fashionable Stamping Challenges.

Claudia has some awesome photography on Our Creative Corner September Challenge Autumnal Image Inspiration to inspire our artwork. I was inspired mostly by the colors-orange, greens, blue-grays, pinkish-purple, and the black of the berries and by the texture of the grasses. Please see the photo collage below.

Thank you for your visit.  I appreciate all your kind comments!  Please let me know if you know who I made this card for!

(images and collage: Claudia Neubacher)