Vibrant Autumn Tutorial

Hello friends! Thank you so much for all the comments on yesterday's Poppy Wall Panel tutorial, made for the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge team STAMPtember blog hop. If you haven't checked out the blog hop yet, don't miss it since there is so much inspiration and also prizes to be won. 

Autumn has begun for sure and I am enjoying seeing how the leaves of the trees change colours. Today, I have a layout to share made for this month's Eileen Hull Art With Heart challenge, Favourite Fall Things.

 

I did a mixed media layout this week, but the techniques work just as well for many types of projects. We recently had a bit of a health scare with Leo, which luckily turned out to be nothing to worry about, but I wanted to make a layout about how grateful I am that all was well, and about how he is at six months old. The journaling is on the back. The photos were taken in the garden, on a blanket I had as a baby. The background is easy to make with dies and paints. I used DecoArt Media products together with Eileen's Sizzix dies.

Start by die cutting six panels with the wonderful Homemade Alphabet die. I used the Sizzix Precision Base Plate, which works great together with this type of die, ensuring a perfect cut. All the leftover letters were placed in a Ziplock bag for another project. 

Glue the panels to a 12 x 12 in watercolour paper with Matte Medium.

Coat with a layer of gesso using a palette knife, which gives a thicker layer inside the letters and gives them a cool look.

When the gesso is dry, paint with Media Fluid Acrylics. I used Green Gold, Quinacridone Burnt Orange, Cadmium Orange Hue, and Transparent Yellow Iron Oxide.

Add some Gold here and there. It is hard to capture on photo, but gives a great effect in real life.

When the paint is dry, stamp the background. I used stamps by Andy Skinner, a lovely tree, birds and Industrial texture stamps. 

Die cut grass, leaves, cherries and a banner from watercolour paper.

Paint the grass with two shades of green (Green Gold and Sap Green) and paint the leaves and other pieces too.

Stamp the die cut shapes with texture stamps, using both Fern Green and Jet Black inks.

The background is easy to create and a great way of getting more out of your dies. I like adding birds in flight to my pages. The sweet star banner was die cut with the Banners & Pennants set.

I popped out the tiny hearts from the cherries and hang the cherries from the banner. We had cherries in the garden when I took these photos, so it fit well.

Bend the strands of grass before adhering to the project in layers. I used the ones that I painted in a darker shade of green towards the front. The leaves were glued under the tree and here and there. The sentiment comes from Tim Holtz Small Talk stickers.

For the title, I die cut banners with the Banners & Pennants set, which has a lot of great banner shapes. The title was stamped on the banners and I attached them to a piece of baker's twine. The number comes from Tim Holtz Framed Alpha Parts. Can you spot the tiny hearts?

The stars also come from the Banners & Pennants set. I love the texture the stamping gave to this project. It is subtle, but makes a big difference.

And a sweet little banner, from the Hearts & More set. I also added a few blue rhinestones, to coordinate with Leo's blue Star Wars outfit.

I hope you will join us in this month's Art with Heart challenge, and as always there is a great prize to be won.

Thank you for visiting my blog today!

Happy crafting!

Anna-Karin

Supplies:

Sizzix Thinlits Die Set 8PK - Banners & Pennants	Sizzix Thinlits Die - Grass	Sizzix GRASS Thinlits	Sizzix Sizzlits Die Set 3PK - Sweet Treats for You Set	Sizzix Sizzlits Die Set 3PK - Hearts & More Set
Sizzix Thinlits Die - Homemade Alphabet	Sizzix HOMEMADE ALPHABET	Stampendous INDUSTRIAL	Stampendous NATURE	Hero Arts PLAYFUL FLOWER LETTERS
Ranger Wendy Vecchi Archival FERN GREEN	Ranger Archival Ink Pad JET BLACK	Prima Flowers 12 X 12 WATERCOLOR PAPER PAD	Ranger MIXED MEDIA CARDSTOCK	Tim Holtz Alpha Parts FRAMED
Tim Holtz Idea-ology SMALL TALK Stickers	Sizzix BIG SHOT MACHINE Gray And White	Big Shot Machine	Sizzix Accessory - Precision Base Plate for Intricate Thinlits Dies	Sizzix PRECISION BASE PLATE
Sizzix MAGNETIC PLATFORM	Standard Magnetic Platform for Wafer-Thin Dies	3M Scotch PINK ATG ADVANCED TAPE GLIDER 1/4	Ranger Inkssentials Non Stick CRAFT SHEET	Ranger Inkssentials GLOSSY ACCENTS

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Additional supplies:
Paint: DecoArt Media Fluid Acrylics: Green Gold, Quinacridone Burnt Orange, Cadmium Orange Hue, Transparent Yellow Iron Oxide, Sap Green, Metallic Gold
Medium: DecoArt Media: Matte Medium, White Gesso